sport-scan daily briefflyers.nhl.com/v2/ext/01 - flyers nhl clips/09.03.2014 nhlc.pdf · 03/09/2014...

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 9/3/2014

Boston Bruins 736491 Shawn Thornton Was Rocking a Panthers Jersey at Bruins Practice 736492 Bruins back at it already

Buffalo Sabres 736493 Roster takes shape for Sabres

Chicago Blackhawks 736494 Bovada: Blackhawks still favored to win 2015 Stanley Cup

Dallas Stars 736495 Could Calgary's Dennis Wideman be Stars' elusive defensive righty?

Detroit Red Wings 736496 Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser really takes to wing with Blue Angels 736497 Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser cherishes 'awesome' opportunity to fly in Blue Angels fighter jet 736498 Red Wings outlook: Having a healthy Henrik Zetterberg for full season should make a difference

Edmonton Oilers 736499 MacKinnon: Edmonton Arena District will be like visit to Disneyland: Nicholson 736500 Cult of Hockey: Edmonton Oilers stars Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle are scoring-chance machines

Florida Panthers 736501 Panthers invite veteran d-man Shane O'Brien on tryout basis

Los Angeles Kings 736502 Lombardi's father dies at age 84

Montreal Canadiens 736503 Stubbs: Darche adjusts to life after hockey 736504 Habs ink three-year deal with Sportsnet for regional TV coverage

Nashville Predators 736505 Predators still long on Cup odds

New York Rangers 736506 Flyers GM Hextall: Why Del Zotto went ‘off the rails’ with Rangers

Ottawa Senators 736507 Bobby Ryan awaits contract talks, bigger leadership role with Senators 736508 No doubt: Melnyk sole owner of Senators 736509 Sens rookie roster ready for London tournament 736510 Melnyk denies reports that state he's brought in minority partner 736511 New three-year deal in hand, Craig Anderson ready to compete 736512 Senators sign Clarke MacArthur to five-year extension 736513 Melnyk optimistic about Senators' potential 736514 Senator Clarke MacArthur wants to convince Bobby Ryan to stay a while 736515 Ex-Senator Kassian still looking for work 736516 Healthy Bobby Ryan hits town, preps for Senators camp

Philadelphia Flyers 736517 Flyers give Zac Rinaldo a two-year contract extension 736518 Flyers sign Zac Rinaldo to two-year extension 736519 Flyers give Rinaldo a 2-year extension 736520 Flyers' Rinaldo gets two-year, $1.7M contract extension 736521 Flyers extend Rinaldo's contract 736522 Flyers, Rinaldo come to terms on 2-year deal 736523 Zac Rinaldo signs two-year extension with Flyers 736524 Flyers extend Rinaldo for two years

San Jose Sharks 736525 Sharks Outlook: Hannan could have diminished role

St Louis Blues 736526 Blues agree to terms with first-round pick Fabbri 736527 Blues sign top draft pick; Oshie to make O'Fallon visit

Toronto Maple Leafs 736528 Maple Leafs: Matt Frattin back after ‘tough year’ with Kings, Blue Jackets 736529 New Maple Leafs cap expert Brandon Pridham trades dream jobs 736530 Peter Holland expects competitive training camp with Maple Leafs 736531 Daniel Winnik takes the long way home to Maple Leafs 736532 Maple Leafs’ Daniel Winnik ready to display ‘hard-nosed, defence-first attitude’

Vancouver Canucks 736536 Gallagher: There’s no salary cap on an NHL front office

Websites 736537 ESPN / Johansen impasse looms over Columbus

Winnipeg Jets 736533 Jets' pick Ehlers signed and sealed, hopefully delivers 736534 Jets sign first-round draft pick 736535 Jets sign 2014 top draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers to entry-level contract SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129

736491 Boston Bruins

Shawn Thornton Was Rocking a Panthers Jersey at Bruins Practice

Boston.com Staff

File under: Say It Ain't So, Shawn.

Former Bruins tough guy and fan favorite Shawn Thornton popped in on the B's informal practice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington today. And adding insult to injury, he was rocking a Florida Panthers jersey.

The 37-year-old Thornton -- who signed with the Panthers earlier this year -- hasn't left to join his new team yet, so he took the opportunity to skate with a small group of Bruins players this morning.

The internet has the highlights:

Thornton in his new colors. pic.twitter.com/i4HE0z5sdj

— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) September 2, 2014

One more of Thornton in his new sweater. pic.twitter.com/oZZqYJnPHW

— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) September 2, 2014

Regarding those who should still wearing the Black and Gold this season, Patrice Bergeron led a group of Bruins through the informal practice session that included: Tuukka Rask, Adam McQuaid, Chris Kelly, Daniel Paille, Dennis Seidenberg, Brian Ferlin, Bobby Robins, Justin Florek, David Pastrnak, David Warsofsky, and Zach Trotman.

Boston Globe LOADED: 09.03.2014

http://bostonherald.com/sports/bruins_nhl/

736492 Boston Bruins

Bruins back at it already

Stephen Harris

Only a few NHL generations ago, players typically began getting in shape on Day 1 of training camp, after an offseason of golf, softball and beer.

Those days, and that lifestyle, are long gone.

Today’s NHLer enters training camp at, or very close to, regular-season game condition.

So although the Bruins’ full training camp doesn’t open until Sept. 19, much of the team is in at least its second week of informal captain’s practice — at Boston University last week and at a different Boston-area rink this week.

Yesterday, Bruins Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Dennis Seidenberg, Loui Eriksson, Adam McQuaid, Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly, Justin Florek, David Warsofsky and Zach Trotman took the ice for a fairly demanding one-hour, 40-minute session.

They were joined by NHL vets like ex-Bruins Shawn Thornton and Hal Gill, Keith Yandle and Steve Eminger, along with a group of young hopefuls led by No. 1 pick David Pastrnak.

“It’s always nice to get back here, especially being here early (and) seeing the guys, seeing the coaches and trainers,” said Bergeron, who served as the de facto coach, organizing the drills and scrimmage.

“We’re enjoying the rest of the nice weather here in Boston and getting ready.”

Even in such a relaxed and low-key atmosphere, the B’s incumbents understand that their team has a lot to prove this season after the disappointing Round 2 playoff loss to Montreal in the spring.

“Of course,” said Bergeron. “I think you have to do that every time. Every time you don’t achieve the ultimate goal you have to prove something all over again. It’s definitely on our mind this year — start all over, have a good training camp, have a good strong start of the season and go from there.

“You can’t look past that, but we’re definitely looking forward to the season. We all know that we’re going to have to bring more (because) all the teams are getting better.”

The Bruins said goodbye this offseason to Jarome Iginla, Kevan Miller and Chad Johnson (with the possibility of more players on the way out), yet Bergeron is confident the team’s core remains strong.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Bergeron. “We have the same core. I’ve been saying that for the last six, seven years now; it’s great to have. I think it tells a lot that (general manager) Peter (Chiarelli) and his guys want to keep that intact. It makes us want to work even harder to keep it.

“With (the core), the new guys and young guys coming in, there’s a great balance. I’m looking forward to it.”

Bergeron is also in a rare position on this team: He has a pretty good idea who his linemates will be. While three of the four lines will be altered, the Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith trio should remain intact, and be asked to play a vital role.

“It’s great,” said Bergeron. “I thought we had some great chemistry by the end of the season and into the playoffs. Obviously we would liked to have done more as a team and as a line in the playoffs. But still I thought our chemistry was there.

“We’re excited and happy if (that) is what’s going to happen, the three of us playing together again. It’s nice to have that already established. We can go into camp knowing how it’s going to be.”

Bergeron talked about the substantial work he put in during the summer — taking power-skating lessons to get quicker on his first few strides and working on his shot, specifically on one-timers and a quicker release.

“I want to get better and improve,” he said.

Thornton, who signed a two-year free agent contract with Florida (and was wearing a Panthers practice jersey and bright red socks), looks to be extremely fit after an offseason of hard workouts and sessions at Boston’s The Ring boxing club. He has purchased a home adjacent to a golf course — where he will get in some rounds with his buddy, PGA star Keegan Bradley — and said he has moved on emotionally from his split with the B’s.

“Was it hard to move on? Yes and no,” said Thornton. “I mean, I was here for seven years. But it’s been three months now. I have moved on. I’ve been to Florida five times in the last eight weeks. So I guess emotionally my head’s already in Florida.”

Boston Herald LOADED: 09.03.2014

http://www.buffalonews.com/section/rssGen?profileID=1104&profileName=Sabres

736493 Buffalo Sabres

Roster takes shape for Sabres

By Mike Harrington | News Sports Columnist | @BNHarrington | Google+

High-five, September. Hello, hockey.

We’re just nine days away from the Sabres’ first game at the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich. It’s just 18 days to the first official preseason game in Washington, 20 days to the home preseason opener against Carolina. And it’s 36 days to the season opener, Oct. 9 against Columbus.

So while your weeks of Fraud Football are just ending and we’re only at Week One of the NFL season, this corner is more than ready to talk some pucks:

• The Sabres were the worst team in the NHL last season and still figure to be near the bottom this year. So why does it feel like there’s not going to be many competitions for jobs to watch at training camp?

Obviously, there will be injuries. Maybe a stray trade or waiver claim near the end of camp. But as it stands now, things seem oddly set like they would be for more of a contender – and we know this bunch is not. Just look at this likely grouping, listed in order of cap hits:

Goaltenders: Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth.

Defense: Tyler Myers, Andrej Meszaros, Josh Gorges, Mike Weber, Rasmus Ristolainen, Andre Benoit, Mark Pysyk. (Nikita Zadorov goes back to juniors and either Jake McCabe or Chad Ruhwedel could stick, or both would be in Rochester.)

Forwards: Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, Brian Gionta, Chris Stewart, Drew Stafford, Torrey Mitchell, Marcus Foligno, Cody McCormick, Patrick Kaleta (remember him?), Sam Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons seem like a dozen to start with. Looks like Brian Flynn or Nicolas Deslauriers for an extra slot. It would seem that names like Joel Armia, Mikhail Grigorenko, Johan Larsson and Phil Varone would all start in Rochester. Maybe make Matt Ellis the captain there again too.

The Sabres have said they’re not handing a roster spot to Reinhart but I can’t imagine a scenario where the No. 2 overall pick can’t make this team. That said, you wonder if the club is thinking about a loaner to Hockey Canada come December for the World Juniors in Toronto and Montreal. That would get Reinhart plenty of high-pressure competition.

To this corner, a top-5 pick should almost always make your team these days. Jonathan Drouin, the No. 3 in 2013, was returned to junior by Tampa Bay last year but the Lightning certainly have a deeper set of forwards. Not so in Calgary, where new GM Brad Treliving raised eyebrows this week by telling Sportsnet.ca that he would be “shocked” if No. 4 overall choice Sam Bennett sticks in the NHL.

“He will have to come in here and show beyond a shadow of a doubt that, not only is he ready to be here, but this is what’s best for him,” Treliving said.

The Sabres not keeping Reinhart or the Flames not keeping Bennett would certainly add to the chatter that they were playing more for Connor McDavid this year than the standings.

• One of the big stories around the league to watch this month will be if the Blue Jackets come to Buffalo on opening night with burgeoning star center Ryan Johansen. The team is reportedly millions of dollars apart on a new deal for the restricted free agent, who is seeking a long-term, big-money deal.

The team wants to stay with a two-year “bridge” contract for the 22-year-old, who exploded last year for 33 goals and 63 points in his first full NHL season. That seems like a sound strategy but players and agents aren’t as accepting of those as they once were even though names like Ennis, Montreal’s P.K. Subban, Derek Stepan of the Rangers and Nazem Kadri of Toronto all took bridge deals.

Johansen’s camp sees him as an elite player, worthy of a big deal right away like Steven Stamkos got in Tampa. And, remember, the Sabres gave Hodgson a six-year deal last summer in the last gasp of stupidity from Darcy Regier.

Johansen should take the bridge deal and show up in camp ready to prove he can do it again. He might want to help his team win a playoff series for once in its history too.

• Sure, every NHL beat writer wants Las Vegas to get an expansion team. Great trip. And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? So how will teams actually play hockey there?

I remember taking a Bisons road trip to New Orleans in 1997 and manager Brian Graham explaining he had a “New Orleans Rule” that the team had to win the first night in town, lest the scene on Bourbon Street get the best of them the rest of the series. The Bisons lost all three days. Graham gave me a big told-ya-so after the finale, a 14-5 drubbing.

It would be interesting to see how hockey teams do with a one-game-in-town schedule in Vegas. That said, give Quebec City a team first and then we can see about Vegas or Seattle.

• Speaking of Vegas, the folks at Bovada put the Sabres at 75-1 to win the Stanley Cup, tied with the Flames, Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators for the longest odds. The Panthers don’t really belong in that group. Winnipeg (66-1) sure does. Chicago is the Cup favorite at 13/2

• Martin Brodeur doesn’t have a job yet and might need to wait for a goalie to get hurt to get a call. It’s sad, almost like watching Willie Mays play out the string for the ’73 Mets when his body was long past its prime. Brodeur is a Devil. Period. He should stay home.

email: [email protected]

Buffalo News LOADED: 09.03.2014

736494 Chicago Blackhawks

Bovada: Blackhawks still favored to win 2015 Stanley Cup

Nina Falcone

We're still weeks from training camp and the Chicago Blackhawks have some work to do in order to address their salary-cap issues before the upcoming campaign begins, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start picking favorites heading into the 2014-15 NHL season.

Bovada released its updated 2015 Stanley Cup odds, and the Blackhawks are (once again) headlining the charts.

NHL team Odds at winning 2015 Stanley Cup

Chicago Blackhawks 13/2

Los Angeles Kings 9/1

Boston Bruins 10/1

Anaheim Ducks 12/1

Pittsburgh Penguins 12/1

St. Louis Blues 12/1

San Jose Sharks 14/1

Minnesota Wild 16/1

New York Rangers 16/1

Tampa Bay Lightning 16/1

Colorado Avalanche 18/1

Montreal Canadiens 18/1

Dallas Stars 20/1

Detroit Red Wings 22/1

Philadelphia Flyers 28/1

Columbus Blue Jackets 33/1

Toronto Maple Leafs 40/1

Vancouver Canucks 40/1

Washington Capitals 40/1

Edmonton Oilers 50/1

New Jersey Devils 50/1

Arizona Coyotes 66/1

Carolina Hurricanes 66/1

New York Islanders 66/1

Ottawa Senators 66/1

Winnipeg Jets 66/1

Buffalo Sabres 75/1

Calgary Flames 75/1

Florida Panthers 75/1

Nashville Predators 75/1

For quite some time now, the Blackhawks have been riding atop Bovada's charts, and there's really no reason to see them drop much before the start of the upcoming campaign.

Yes, the team will have some roster moves they'll need to make — which will likely happen around the time of training camp — but fans likely won't see too drastic of a change before the season opens.

But expect to see the Kings continue to remain neck-and-neck with the Blackhawks. Like Chicago in 2013, they're returning the majority of their championship roster, so as more preseason rankings get released in the upcoming weeks, those two will remain in a close race.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.03.2014

Make sure you skip any wtriters chats and radio articles

736495 Dallas Stars

Could Calgary's Dennis Wideman be Stars' elusive defensive righty?

MIKE HEIKA

Howdy folks, since returning from vacation, I have started a rolling chat. Just send in any questions you have via e-mail to [email protected], and I'll answer them here. There's plenty to talk about, so let's see if we can keep the conversation going. Some of these questions are also great for debate, so comment at the bottom.

Q: Been reading your rolling chat and was wondering if you think the stars would have any interest in dennis wideman from the flames?

He's a Rhd which you guys need and we could take horcoff or gonchar (if he would waive his ntc) with maybe a mid level prospect coming along. Believe wideman would fit in your top six (probably top four). Three years left so it's not arduous and you have cap room available to take his salary on. Could even expand the deal to Wideman/David Jones for Gonchar/Horcoff and a b level prospect if the teams would agree.

Wideman won't be around by the time the flames can compete and I think he'd be open to waiving his nmc for a playoff bound team like Dallas.

Appreciate your thoughts

Thanks

Rob

HEIKA: It's actually a very intriguing proposition. I like Dennis Wideman a lot. He costs a bit (three years left at $5.25 million), but he's a right-handed defenseman who can run a power play and is pretty solid defensively.

He played only 46 games last season and finished the season with an upper body injury (I believe it's a shoulder), so there's that concern. But he's 31, he is healthy again, and he would definitely make the Stars better.There is a problem that comes with all of the good defensemen who might help make the Stars better. If he joins the team, does that mean the opportunity for Patrik Nemeth or John Klingberg or Jamie Oleksiak are diminished? If it is, does that hurt the Stars' ability to assess the future. I believe GM Jim Nill is hoping to seriously go after a No. 1 defenseman next summer when the teams likely sheds more than $18 million in salary for potentially departing veterans (Gonchar, Horcoff, Cole and Peverley). If he is to acquire that defenseman via trade, he'll need prospects to dangle in trade, and he'll need to know which ones he wants to keep.What if Oleksiak or Klingberg are spectacular this season? What if they're only so-so. That's information that's needed. If you give either up now in a trade, do you really have the information you want on them? If you're going to give up one of those players, is Wideman worth the cost? If you give up forwards, does that hurt you in going after a No. 1 defenseman, and does that mean you have too many defensemen fighting for too few jobs?Then you get into the whole salary cap issue. I'm not sure if Sergei Gonchar or Shawn Horcoff would approve a trade to Calgary, and the Flames have to take back salary to stay above the floor (the Stars also need to shed salary to make room for Wideman). So can you juggle all those issues in order to add Wideman? Does the cost of sending an expensive veteran the other way cost you even more in prospects or draft picks? Is any of this even possible?Wideman is the kind of player I think the Stars need to be open about acquiring, but it's a tough trade to make. I just see the game plan right now as keeping the defense as it is, hoping for big improvement from the kids, and then adjusting later in the season or next summer. The Stars want that elusive No. 1 defenseman, and I think they will be patient in waiting for him.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 09.03.2014

736496 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser really takes to wing with Blue Angels

Ted Kulfan

Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser flies with the Blue Ange...

Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser flies with the Blue Ange...: Defenseman talks about his 45-minute flight at Selfridge in an F/A-18 Hornet.

Harrison Township— Danny DeKeyser has played in several hockey games and been through a ton of rigorous workouts, but nothing prepared him for Tuesday’s flight with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was awesome,” said DeKeyser, whose face looked a bit ashen and who admitted he reached for the disposable bag a couple times during his flight. “I’m still a little woozy right now, but it was something different.

“You don’t get an opportunity to do something like this very often.”

DeKeyser flew with Lt. Ryan Chamberlain in an F/A-18 Hornet, which has the capability of going 1,400 miles per hour — just over mach 1.

If they didn’t fully reach 1,000 mph, it sure felt like it to DeKeyser.

“They give you a tutorial on what to do (before the procedure) and I tried to follow what they told me the best I could,” said DeKeyser, whose flight lasted approximately 40 minutes. “They tell you how to tighten your legs and squeeze muscles.”

Lt. Cmdr. Chris Shipe, a spokesman for Tuesday’s event, said a person with DeKeyser’s body mass and structure was pulling six times his normal body weight during the fly-along.

“That’s why when they’re walking off, they looked a little tired; it’s like running a marathon,” Shipe said.

DeKeyser said one of the unique aspects of the flight was the takeoff.

“It felt like it went straight up, which was kind of weird,” DeKeyser said. “(The pilot) guns it and we’re flying over Port Huron in two minutes.”

Still unsigned

DeKeyser is the last of the Red Wings restricted free agents still unsigned, but doesn’t sound concerned with camp set to begin Sept. 18.

“I’m pretty confident,” DeKeyser said of his belief a contract will be worked out soon. “We haven’t talked in in about a week or two, but we’ll talk again here soon and hopefully get something worked out.”

DeKeyser had 23 points (four goals) in 65 games last season. An undrafted free agent, his salary cap hit was $925,000 the last two seasons.

Detroit News LOADED: 09.03.2014


Red Wings' Danny DeKeyser cherishes 'awesome' opportunity to fly in Blue Angels fighter jet

Ansar Khan | [email protected] By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

HARRISON TOWNSHIP – Danny DeKeyser prepared for the ride of a lifetime by packing a couple of plastic bags in his pants pocket.

He took them out when he felt a little air sick while flying over Southeast Michigan at speeds he'd never experienced before, but he didn't need them.

DeKeyser, the second-year defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings, handled it well, his 40-minute flight Tuesday on a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet.

"It was awesome," DeKeyser said at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, minutes after stepping off a jet that's capable of reaching speeds of 1,400 miles per hour. "I'm still feeling a little woozy right now. I've never experienced anything like that."

The Blue Angels are in town this week for the Selfridge Open House and Air Show Saturday and Sunday. They asked the Red Wings if anyone was interested in a demonstration. DeKeyser, who grew up a few miles from Selfridge, eagerly accepted.

"You don't really get an opportunity to do something like this too often, so I figured why not?" DeKeyser said.

"I didn't do anything to prepare. They put you through a little tutorial before and kind of tell you how to tighten your legs, and you got to squeeze certain muscles so you don't pass out. You just got to do it to know what it feels like."

Danny DeKeyser's Blue Angels Flight Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser talks about his experience flying on a Blue Angels jet.

He described taking off at what felt like a 90-degree angle as a "weird feeling."

"(The pilot) guns it off the end of the runway, straight up and you're gone," DeKeyser said. "We're up to Port Huron (about 30 miles away) in about two minutes."

Lt. Commander Chris Shipe was not the pilot for the flight but described DeKeyser's experience.

"In your normal everyday environment you're pulling 1 G on your body, one times your weight," Shipe said. "That (jet) goes up to about 10 G's. I'm not sure what (DeKeyser) pulled on it but ... at some point in time in that flight they pulled six times their body weight. That's why they're walking off a little tired. It's like a marathon."

Shipe didn't think DeKeyser's flight actually hit 1.4 Mach (1,400 mph).

"I don't know if that's what they went today, but that's what it's capable of," Shipe said. "I didn't hear them break the sound barrier, so I don't think they went that fast."

Shipe added, "All the pilots from the Blue Angels are from the fleet. This aircraft, the Blue Angel F-18 Hornet, is no different than a fleet aircraft, but all the weapons have been taken off. So they are, on a day to day basis, flying the Show profile, doing similar techniques they use in the fleet, whether that's for engagement or bombings or fighter air combat maneuvering. What they're showing people by doing this is what Naval aviation does on a day to day basis overseas. It's a way to show the Navy in the best possible light."

Contract talks with the Red Wings aren't speeding along at the same pace, but DeKeyser is confident he'll have a new deal before training camp starts on Sept. 18.

"I think we're going to talk again here soon and hopefully get something finished up," DeKeyser said. "I'm pretty confident."

Michigan Live LOADED: 09.03.2014


Red Wings outlook: Having a healthy Henrik Zetterberg for full season should make a difference

Ansar Khan | [email protected] By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

(Another in a series of player profiles prior to training camp Sept. 18-23.)

Henrik Zetterberg

Position: Center/left wing

Age: 34 (on Oct. 9)

Height/Weight: 5-11/197

2013-14 stats: 45 games, 16 goals, 32 assists, 48 points, plus-19 rating, 20 penalty minutes; (playoffs) two games, one goal, one assist, two points, plus-1 rating, no penalty minutes.

Career stats: 759 games, 279 goals, 441 assists, 720 points, plus-165 rating, 309 penalty minutes; (playoffs) 125 games, 56 goals, 60 assists, 116 points, plus-42 rating, 67 penalty minutes.

Contract status: Seven years remaining at a cap hit of $6.083 million.

2013-14 in review: Led team in points per game (1.07) and plus-minus rating (plus-19). ... Missed a total of 37 regular season and three playoff games due to back issues. ... Underwent surgery on Feb. 21 to remove part of a herniated disc that was rubbing against a nerve. Missed the final 24 regular season games before returning in Game 4 of the playoff series vs. Boston. ... Led team in average shots per game (3.36), registering at least one shot in all but two games. ... Led team with 61 missed shots. ... Recorded 700th point on Nov. 24 at Buffalo. ... Had 14 multi-point games, including three three-point games. ... Led club's forwards in average ice time (20:33) and led all Red Wings in average power-play time (3:31). ... Won 53 percent of his faceoffs (259 of 489). ... Named Sweden's captain for the Olympics, in his fourth appearance in the Winter Games. But he was forced to withdraw after one game due to back pain.

2014-15 outlook: Despite playing with back pain until undergoing surgery, Zetterberg did what he always does -- he was the team's most productive player and the player matched up against the opposition's top scoring threats. Now that he's healthy, he should be even better, despite having a lot of wear and tear on his body. Entering his 12th NHL season, he remains a force at both ends of the ice, playing with a lot of heart and determination. Few are stronger on the puck. The third-year captain will continue to lead the team on and off the ice. He likely will start the season on a line with Pavel Datsyuk, but they usually are split up and reunited several times during the season. He could also play on a line with Gustav Nyquist, Johan Franzen or Daniel Alfredsson. Whoever plays with Zetterberg usually plays better.

Michigan Live LOADED: 09.03.2014

736499 Edmonton Oilers

MacKinnon: Edmonton Arena District will be like visit to Disneyland: Nicholson

By John MacKinnon, Edmonton Journal September 2, 2014 7:22 PM

EDMONTON - The former national hockey czar charged with bringing Oilers owner Daryl Katz’s vision to reality does not dial down his enthusiasm when talking about the Edmonton Arena District (EAD).

“It will be like you’re going to Disneyland,” said Bob Nicholson, named vice-chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group in mid-June, two weeks after he concluded a 16-year run as president and CEO of Hockey Canada. “(There are) going to be different components of this district that will (touch) people in so many different ways.”

Rogers Place, the showpiece arena at the centre of the district, won’t open until Sept. 2016, but in an exclusive interview Tuesday, Nicholson said some pieces of the puzzle will be rolled out over the next 12-18 months.

“This fall, over the next month to six weeks, you’re going to see partnerships and you’ll go ‘Wow,’ now I can see how that partnership is going to happen,” said the 60-year-old native of Penticton, B.C.

The local business community will get glimpses of the plan at the second annual E-Town festival, a best-practices congress put on by the Edmonton Economic Development Corp. (EEDC) at the Shaw Conference Centre from Sept. 11-12.

Nicholson will participate with EEDC president Brad Ferguson in a keynote question-and-answer session that will serve as an introduction to his adopted city.

Originally, the plan was for Ferguson to interview Katz, but the Oilers owner cancelled, owing to unforeseen circumstances. Pity that, because Katz made a compelling and passionate case for the EAD in a session with six journalists at his office last week.

Nicholson, who sold his Calgary home last Friday and who, with his wife, Lorna, will move into a condo just west of downtown, is no less passionate than his boss about the vision. But Nicholson is far more at ease in front of an audience or TV cameras or chatting with curious reporters.

If Katz is the hardball deal-maker, Nicholson is the consensus builder, a lifelong networker who puts building relationships high on his list of strengths.

“We want to have a stronger relationship with the University of Alberta,” Nicholson said. “We want to have a stronger relationship with the Edmonton Eskimos.

“You’ve got to have strong local relationships, because that’s your base. But that quickly moves out to the entire province of Alberta, then throughout Canada and North America. If you have what we know we’re going to have, you try to attract people from everywhere to come and see this.”

He said that what the OEG knows it has will be rolled out bit by bit, and sooner than later.

“Over the next 12-24 months we will see a number of key partnerships rolled out that we’re starting to cultivate,” Nicholson said. “We don’t have all those (confirmed), but hopefully we’ll start to announce those in the fall.”

Might the OEG look at installing a ‘musician-in-residence,’ for example, as New York’s Madison Square Garden has done with Long Island native Billy Joel, now billed as MSG’s fourth franchise, along with the NBA’s Knicks, the NHL’s Rangers and the WNBA’s Liberty?

“We’re certainly going to look at all those (sorts of ideas),” Nicholson said. “Should we have one act a year, should we have sporting events, all of those types of things we’re going to look at.

“But you’ve got to get your key partnerships in place to make sure everything is going to be functional as you make those announcements. I could see us going out and getting ownership to certain things, whether it be entertainment or sporting events.”

Might he pursue family entertainment franchises, such as Cirque du Soleil, for example?

“There’s no question. If you take all the top artists and all the top acts (worldwide), hey, we’re going to pursue all of those in every different field, whether it’s music or rodeos,” Nicholson said.

He acknowledged “getting into the music world, that’s new (to him). But it’s still the same thing, its about how you develop partnerships.”

Will there be a legacy component woven into the new arena and district, homage to the great Oilers teams of the 1980s?

“That’s going to be a piece of what we do,” Nicholson said. “When I say a piece, there’s so many moving parts.”

Within the district, Nicholson foresees some restaurants that “are going to be destinations,” others that will be “placeholders,” eateries people visit before attending a sports event or concert.

Nicholson said he leveraged his “very special” relationship with Wayne Gretzky to help bring “Hockey Canada to another level, not just on the ice, but off the ice.

“The other key person in (Oilers) organization that I have an unbelievable relationship with is (also vice-chair, OEG) Kevin Lowe. There are only two people that have been on the management of three Olympic gold medal teams, and that’s Kevin Lowe and Bob Nicholson. We’ve had many successes together.”

Katz re-worked his organizational chart to have Lowe, a co-chair of the OEG, with Nicholson, oversee the hockey side, with Patrick LaForge (OEG president and COO) continuing to direct the day-to-day business operations.

But, in addition to implementing Katz’s overarching vision for the new arena and the district that frames it, Nicholson will bring a “new set of eyes” to the hockey operations.

“I came here to win a Stanley Cup. The goal any time anyone gets involved with the NHL is to win a Stanley Cup. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I want to be able to put some of those stepping stones (in place) so this organization can see that dream come true again.”

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 09.03.2014

736500 Edmonton Oilers

Cult of Hockey: Edmonton Oilers stars Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle are scoring-chance machines

By David Staples, Edmonton Journal September 2, 2014 4:05 PM

EDMONTON — Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle are different players in style — Hall is a flame-thrower, Eberle a rapier — but not so different when it comes to their results.

Hall blazes down the wing to scorch opposing defencemen with burning speed and a lightning shot. Eberle slices through the zone, his eyes up, probing for weaknesses, searching for his chance to make a deadly thrust, pass or shot toward the net.

While the methods are different, both Hall and Eberle are able to unleash a high number of hard or dangerous slots from the slot area on net. Hall led the Edmonton Oilers in this category in 2013-14 (the first time I’ve kept track of this activity for a full season). He had 168 scoring-chance shots in 75 games, good for 2.24 scoring-chance shots per game. Eberle was second on the team with 156 in 80 games, 1.95 scoring-chance shots per game.

Next best were David Perron, with 130 scoring-chance shots; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 114; Nail Yakupov, 85; Ryan Smyth, 74; Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner, 59 each; and Mark Arcobello, with 39 in just 41 games.

On the next rung is defenceman Justin Schultz, with 49 scoring-chance shots in 74 games, good for 0.66 per game; then Boyd Gordon, 35; Jesse Joensuu, 19; Jeff Petry, 22; Matt Hendricks, 16; Andrew Ference, 14; Anton Belov, 11; Martin Marincin, 8; and Luke Gazdic, 9.

The Oilers nearest the top of the list are back. It will be up to newcomers Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell to replace or build upon the scoring-chance production seen from Hemsky and Smyth. Yakupov might have a huge hand in that, as well, if he can start to producing around two scoring-chance shots per game, like Hall and Eberle do. That’s a rate of production that would match Yakupov’s status as a first overall pick.

As for replacing Gagner, Arcobello is slated to take that job. He had slightly more scoring-chance shots per game than Gagner, so perhaps the Oilers won’t miss a beat on the attack.

Schultz led the way on defence, but he’s got to find a way to get more dangerous shots on net, given the amount of power-play time he gets.

It’s hard to imagine newcomers Mark Fayne and Nikita Nikitin will add much to the attack, so if the Oilers blue-line is going to get more scoring, it’s up to Schultz.

Eberle has often somewhat confounded those hockey stats analysts who rely on Corsi shot metrics to rate individual players. He’s done so because of his ability to create a high number of goals and points, even though the team doesn’t always generate an impressive number of shots when he’s on the ice.

Eberle appears to be a unique player. He has the razor-sharp skills to generate a high number of scoring-chance shots per game, but he’s all Mr. Picky when it comes to shooting the puck. Other players may blast away from all angles, but Eberle is far more choosy. He’s more likely than any other top Oilers attacker to only shoot the puck when he’s on the kill floor, in the slot area right in front of the net, where the chance of scoring a goal is highest.

Eberle took a good number of shots last year, 200 in total, but 78 per cent of his shots were scoring-chance shots. As a team, only 52 per cent of the Oilers’ shots in 2013-14 were scoring-chance shots.

Among the Oilers forwards, the more skilled players were able to work their way into good shooting areas and get off a hard or dangerous shot. As a result, their percentage of scoring-chance shots is also high, with Yakupov at 70 per cent; Hall, 67; Nugent-Hopkins, 64; Hemsky, 63; and Perron, 59.

The grinder types had more trouble getting off scoring-chance shots, with Joensuu at 46 per cent; Gordon, 44; Hendricks, 33; and Gazdic, 30.

The one anomaly here was Gagner at 41 per cent. Gagner is a skilled player, with fine passing, shooting and puck-handling skills, but he was nonetheless unable to get in tight enough on net to have a high percentage

of his shots end up as scoring chances. Perhaps his game will rebound in Phoenix.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 09.03.2014

736501 Florida Panthers

Panthers invite veteran d-man Shane O'Brien on tryout basis

By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

With training camp still more than two weeks away, the Panthers continued their search for another veteran defenseman by inviting Shane O'Brien on a professional tryout basis, according to a team source.

O'Brien, 31, has played 528 NHL games for six teams over eight seasons. At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, O'Brien has accumulated 91 points, including 13 goals, but is known for his physical nature as his 911 career penalty minutes indicates. He had a career-high 196 PIMs for Vancouver in 2008-09.

Last year the Panthers invited goalie Tim Thomas, defenseman Tom Gilbert and forward Brad Boyes on PTO's, and all were eventually signed to one-year deals. Boyes ended up with a team-leading 21 goals and re-signed for another two years in March.

Thomas was solid in net (16-20-3) before being traded to Dallas at midseason once the Panthers reacquired goalie Roberto Luongo. Gilbert led all Panthers defensemen in scoring with 28 points but was signed by the Canadiens in July.

O'Brien has played for Anaheim, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Nashville, Colorado and most recently Calgary last season. He had three assists while averaging 11:18 minutes on the ice in 45 games, but the Flames used one of their compliance buyouts on the remaining $2.2 million of his contract.

This offseason, the Panthers added another left-handed shooting, veteran defenseman in Willie Mitchell while buying out franchise stalwart Ed Jovanovski. They have six defensemen on one-way contracts, including four who are 24 years old or younger.

That list doesn't include rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad, 18, the overall No. 1 draft pick, who's projected to make the season-opening roster. Ekblad, who said he's fully recovered from a concussion, remains unsigned, but a team source said there are, "no issues,'' and is close to reaching a deal.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 09.03.2014

736502 Los Angeles Kings

Lombardi's father dies at age 84

· posted by RICH HAMMOND

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi will have his Stanley Cup celebration this weekend, near the end of a difficult summer.

Lombardi’s father, Paul, died on Aug. 16 at age 84. Dean Lombardi kept the news as quiet as possible for months, but his father had been ill for much of last season.

According to the obituary provided by the Kings, Paul Lombardi served in the United States Air Force for 48 years, including stints in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and retired as a master sergeant. Lombardi also worked for a chemical company in Massachusetts.

Dean Lombardi often attributes his work ethic to his father, as well as his devotion to the New York Yankees, even though Dean grew up in central Massachusetts.

The family has requested that any contributions in Paul Lombardi’s name be made to the Dakin Humane Society (P.O. Box 6307, Springfield, Mass., 01101-6307) or to any animal shelter.

As for Dean Lombardi, he will be hosting two public events with the Stanley Cup in Northern California on Saturday.

The Cup is scheduled to be at Snoopy’s Ice Arena in Santa Rosa from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and then at the Napa Westin from 5-8 p.m.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 09.03.2014

736503 Montreal Canadiens

Stubbs: Darche adjusts to life after hockey

By DAVE STUBBS, THE GAZETTE September 2, 2014 8:40 PM

So, Mathieu Darche, you’re standing over an easy putt on the 18th green and if you drain it, you defeat your playing partner whose potential corporate business — perhaps enormously lucrative business — you’ve been cultivating.

Do you lip the putt, swallow the golf defeat and seal the contract?

“Never. Never!” Darche replies with a laugh. “You never lose that competitive edge. You never lose on purpose.”

The former Canadiens forward has had plenty of time to network on the golf course this summer, entertaining current and prospective clients for Delmar International Inc., his employer of not quite 13 months.

On and off the course, the global freight forwarding giant has liked what they’ve seen of Darche, who for the Canadiens from 2009-12 skated 149 of his 250 NHL games.

This week, Delmar is announcing that Darche, 37, has been promoted, adding full responsibility for the company’s Quebec sales force to his work as director of business development and public relations.

A nice jump up the corporate ladder after just a year in his post-hockey career.

“Fooled them, eh?” Darche joked Monday night as he discussed his new Delmar role, speaking from an arena in Candiac where he was watching his son, Samuel, take part in a peewee Double-B tryout.

“It’s been fun. It’s one thing to get the new job and all that, but they’ve taught me well. They got me involved in a lot of stuff from the start.

“I’ll wear a few hats, in marketing and planning, too, but this is more my being there to help the staff than it is bossing them around. I’ve been in the business for a year and a lot of them have been here for 15 or 20.

“It’s a good group of people and I have a good relationship with them. There are things I still need to learn but I got a good grasp in my full year. I’ve listened to people when they’ve talked and I’ve learned a lot.”

Darche had hoped to squeeze in a few more NHL games following the 2012-13 lockout, a career that had seen him suit up for five different NHL clubs and tour the minors during a 13-year professional career. But when that ice melted, he retired and considered his options.

He had earned a commerce degree in marketing and international business at McGill in 2000, while playing for the Redmen, and worked diligently on behalf of the NHL Players’ Association during the lockout, earning the praise of NHLPA head Donald Fehr.

And then, quite by chance at an April 2013 sports celebrity breakfast in Côte-St-Luc, Darche met Mike Wagen, the longtime senior vice-president and chief operating officer of family-owned, privately held Delmar.

One chat led to another, then to introductions and meetings with Delmar founder and chairman Harrison Cutler, chief executive Robert Cutler and other senior staff.

It all led to a job, and on Aug. 12 last year, his first day at work, Darche accompanied Wagen into an acronym-heavy, high-level meeting in the company’s St-Laurent headquarters.

“It might as well have been held in Chinese,” Darche recalled.

But he was a quick study, even if he admits the world of customs brokerage, freight forwarding, logistics and supply-chain management were all foreign to him.

Delmar gave Darche a list of those brain-numbing acronyms to study and before long, he was able to hold his own, and more, in conversations.

“Customs work is very technical so that’s a steeper learning curve,” he said. “But we have experts in that. As long as I know the macro part of it, I can pull together the right resources.”

Delmar is delighted with the man they now promote to direct their Quebec sales force, having rolled the dice a little over a year ago with a freshly retired NHLer who had zero experience in this precise, detail-intensive industry.

Cutler, the company CEO, describes Darche as “a role model, team player and perfect addition” to his team, Delmar having sent him last year to China, to Mexico City a couple times and to Toronto.

Darche will continue to travel a little internationally, but he’ll focus his energies on expanding business throughout Quebec. The cachet of being a former Canadien might help open a door, but once inside, only his skills will land a contract.

He’s enjoying his new suit-and-tie life, Delmar giving him flexibility both to set his own schedule to avoid bridge traffic from Candiac and to make time to remain a contributor to RDS, for whom he’ll continue to freelance as a hockey analyst and website columnist.

Darche’s wife, Stéphanie, has parlayed contract work downtown with Rio Tinto Alcan into solid permanent employment; together, they juggle the shuttling of their two boys — Samuel, 11, and Benjamin, 9 — who are typically busy with sports and school and friends.

“I’ve just got to find a way to lose the 20 pounds I’ve put on,” Darche said, laughing, of his beyond-hockey career. “I went for a run yesterday and wondered who put the piano on my shoulders.”

He keeps a close eye on the Canadiens, having commented on TV and online for RDS about defenceman P.K. Subban being a strong candidate for the team’s vacant captaincy.

“Why not?” Darche said. “I don’t think he’d be a bad candidate. If not, I could see a guy like (Brendan) Gallagher.

“But people put too much emphasis on a captain. Having a letter on your jersey doesn’t make you a leader. Sometimes, guys become captains and assistants just because they’ve been there long enough to become part of the furniture.

“Some teams have management that want this or that guy, others put in a guy who’s been there longest, which doesn’t mean anything. I’ve seen guys — like Tomas Plekanec — who don’t have a letter but who have been great leaders.”

Like every Canadiens observer, Darche is eager to see how the leadership story plays out with the July departures of captain Brian Gionta and defenceman Josh Gorges. And he hails incoming Manny Malhotra, with whom he worked during the lockout, as “a great veteran and a standup guy.”

The Canadiens will sort themselves out, of course, as Darche stickhandles through his challenging new Delmar career that’s at least as tricky as finding a fix for a slumping power play.

“Regardless of who you are in the company, you still rely on your team,” he said. “It’s the same principle as in hockey. You must rely on your team and motivate them.

“In this business, like in hockey, you’re only as good as your weakest link. And I’ve got a lot of very good teammates.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.03.2014

736504 Montreal Canadiens

Habs ink three-year deal with Sportsnet for regional TV coverage

Posted by Stu Cowan

Sportsnet announced on Tuesday that it has reached a three-year broadcast rights agreement with the Canadiens for regional coverage of the team’s games. Sportsnet becomes the official English-language regional television rights holder for Habs games.

The Canadiens’ regional broadcast area includes Quebec, Ontario east of Belleville/Pembroke and Atlantic Canada. The regional broadcast regulations are set by the NHL and regional games are blacked out outside the regional area.

The new Sportsnet deal includes 42 regional games with 39 of them on Sportsnet East and three on City Montreal. When combined with the national package of 40 Canadiens games, Sportsnet will deliver all 82 regular-season games to Habs fans within the regional broadcast area across nine channels, including CBC, City, Sportsnet (East, Ontario, West and Pacific), Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360 and FX Canada.

“The Canadiens are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports,” Scott Moore, president, Sportsnet and NHL, Rogers, said in a statement. “Today’s agreement, combined with our national package, allows us to serve Eastern Canada and connect Habs fans to their beloved team by creating a one-stop-shop to watch all of the games.”

Said Kevin Gilmore, the Canadiens’ executive vice-president and chief operating officer: “The Montreal Canadiens are pleased to have concluded an English-language regional broadcasting agreement with Sportsnet that will enable a greater number of Habs hockey fans in the province of Quebec and in Eastern Canada to see the Canadiens in action. Over the years, Sportsnet has acquired a strong reputation with the quality of their hockey broadcasts and this agreement will continue to enhance the hockey experience on television for our fans.”

TVA Sports and RDS will combine to televise all 82 games in French.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.03.2014

736505 Nashville Predators

Predators still long on Cup odds

Bovada came out with its latest Stanley Cup odds, and the sports betting company knocked down the Predators.

The Preds are currently at 75-1 odds to win the Cup, which is tied for lowest in the NHL with Buffalo, Calgary and Florida. The Predators were at 66-1 on July 9.

The team is also at 40-1 odds to win the Western Conference and 12-1 to win the Central Division.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the favorite to win the Stanley Cup -- per Bovada -- coming in at 13-2 odds. The defending Stanley Cup champion Kings are at 9-1. In my head, Los Angeles should be the favorite.

Also, I don't see the Predators are being such long-shots, seeing that they're tied with some of the worst teams in the NHL in terms of odds. Remember, this is a group that had 88 points last season with its starting goaltender out for a majority of the year.

Alas, this is why they play the games...

Tennessean LOADED: 09.03.2014

736506 New York Rangers

Flyers GM Hextall: Why Del Zotto went ‘off the rails’ with Rangers

By Howie Kussoy

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall believes Michael Del Zotto’s fall from an exciting young talent to a frustratingly inconsistent defenseman was a simple case of too much, too soon.

Del Zotto, who first appeared with the Rangers as a 19-year-old, looked like he would be a blueliner for the Blueshirts for a long time, but the offensive acumen shown early in his career faded in his final season in New York, leading to his January trade to Nashville, where he struggled in the second half.

Del Zotto, who had career highs of 10 goals and 41 points in the 2011-12 season, signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with Philadelphia this offseason, and Hextall thinks he’ll end up thanking New York for the bargain.

“Michael has admitted he had a down year [with the Rangers and Predators],” Hextall told CSNPhilly.com. “We look at a young player like Michael Del Zotto coming into the NHL at his age. He has a lot of money. He’s got fame, he’s got people wanting to spend time with him and thinking he’s a big deal. Any 20-21-22- or 23-year-old, it’s pretty easy to get off the rails. I think that is what happened to him. I think in two years, he will look back and say, ‘It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I regained my focus and what is important.’

“It’s so hard. These kids come in and get so much money and so much fame, you’re living in New York City and we expect them to be what we call, ‘pros.’ No. They’re in a process at 20-21-22 years old, figuring out what it is to be a pro …You go from being a junior hockey player playing in front of 3,000 people and riding a bus to playing at Madison Square Garden or Wells Fargo in front of 19,000 people. You’re in the NHL, in front of Hockey Night in Canada. It’s … national TV. It’s a big adjustment for any kid in any walk of life. It’s a lot tougher than people think. These young people have to grow up in a hurry.”

Del Zotto, the 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft, turned 24 this summer.

“You’re watching a little part where he was struggling, and admittedly, didn’t play the type of hockey he is capable of playing,” Hextall said. “If you’re taking it on that, a couple years ago he had 41 points and it’s a little bit of a different story. If you see Player X playing and he is at the down point of his year, you might not think he’s a good player, he’s having a terrible year, my God, this guy can’t even play. He comes back the next year and you go, ‘Wow, he’s a pretty good player.’ “

New York Post LOADED: 09.03.2014

736507 Ottawa Senators

Bobby Ryan awaits contract talks, bigger leadership role with Senators

Ken Warren More from Ken Warren

Bobby Ryan understands that questions about his long-term future with the Ottawa Senators will be in the air until he signs a long-term contract extension. That won’t, however, stop him from being a louder voice in the dressing room this season.

“In my conversations with (Senators coach Paul MacLean) this summer, I know there will be a little more of a role for me to take on as a leader,” said Ryan, who skated Tuesday at the Sensplex, along with several teammates and other Ottawa-based pros. “Last year, he noticed that I didn’t talk a whole lot or become a more rah-rah guy because I was still learning my way and still trying to find my place in the room.

“I think his expectations have shifted for me to be more of a vocal leader in the room. And that’s fine. I can do that.”

Ryan, who is to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, hopes negotiations on a new long-term deal will pick up steam now that he’s back in Ottawa.

“I was looking forward to getting back here to getting more involved than I have been (in negotiations), but as far as I knew, every discussion has been amicable and there haven’t been any breakdowns or anything like that,” said Ryan, who spends most of his summer in relative isolation in Idaho. “Everybody is confident that we’re going to start going with (serious negotiations) when everyone is in town.”

At the same time, Ryan is conscious of doing everything he can to keep his off-ice discussions out of the dressing room.

“I hope it doesn’t distract the other guys when they’re fielding questions about it. I know how hard it is to get asked questions about (Jason) Spezza’s status and stuff when he’s in the room. You never want to say anything that is going to make it worse for that individual.”

As for the topic of Spezza, whose trade request was granted when he was dealt to the Dallas Stars on July 1, Ryan says he remains friends with the former Senators captain. He talked with Spezza “several times” during the summer.

“We all knew he was ready to move on and at that point, you just want to be a friend and wish him well,” he said.

While Ryan will inherit some of the leadership gap in Spezza’s absence, the four-time 30-goal scorer also says it will up to the entire team to kick in a bit more offensively to make up for the loss of Spezza’s point production.

Ryan, who scored 23 goals and 25 assists in 70 games before a sports hernia operation ended his season, says the club must adopt a more defensive mindset, echoing comments made by Clarke MacArthur earlier in the summer.

“We have to focus on ways to win games 2-1,” he said. “You can’t replace a 90-point guy. It’s hard to do, but if that gives everybody (else) the opportunity to get five or 10 more points, it fills the void a little bit. We have to keep teams off the board and play with the Pesky Sens role that was here before I was.”

Ryan acknowledges he needs to pick up the pace in informal workouts “to get the junk out” before the opening of training camp in two weeks, but he believes he’s fully recovered following the sports hernia surgery.

While Ryan’s health and his role within the team are legitimate questions, he recognizes that topic No. 1 – contract talks – will be front and centre the longer they continue. He doesn’t expect a quick solution.

“Everybody is going to read so far into it,” he says. “It’s natural. And I understand that. (The media) has a job to do to ask questions and that’s all going to come with it, but from everyone I talk to, it’s a long process.”

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 09.03.2014


No doubt: Melnyk sole owner of Senators


Ferguslea Properties president Dan Greenberg proudly declares himself to be one of the Ottawa Senators biggest fans, as well as a prominent corporate sponsor for the team.

But he said Thursday that he has no ownership stake in the NHL franchise, which is owned by Eugene Melnyk, denying a report in Frank Magazine and speculation on social media.

“Neither Ferguslea Properties Limited nor Dan Greenberg nor any affiliated entities have any ownership or financial interest in the Ottawa Senators,” Greenberg said in a statement released to the Citizen.

“Regardless, we continue to strongly support the ownership, management, players and members of the Ottawa Senators organization.”

Greenberg, who has been involved in countless charity projects in the Ottawa-area, including the funding of the Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, is a “major supporter” of the SENS RINK project which was opened earlier this month in Bayshore Park, according to the release.

Melnyk’s camp also issued a statement Thursday.

“The suggestion that Mr. Melnyk has brought in a minority ownership partner is 100 per cent false,” said Melnyk spokesman Ken Villazor. “There are absolutely no discussions taking place related to a change in ownership structure of the Senators.”



Sens rookie roster ready for London tournament


Curtis Lazar’s quest to make the Ottawa Senators lineup this season will begin in London at the club’s rookie tournament Sept. 13-15, where the Senators prospects will be playing against their peers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks.

While Lazar will garner the most attention among the Senators hopefuls, the lineup will also feature several others who will be pushing to spend at least some time in Ottawa this season. That group includes wingers Matt Puempel and Shane Prince, along with defencemen Fredrik Claesson. Goaltender Andrew Hammond, who played well for the Senators in a brief stint after last season being recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League last season, will share netminding duties with Chris Driedger, fresh from the end of his junior career with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League.

Nick Paul and Alex Guptill, acquired from the Dallas Stars in the July trade for Jason Spezza, will also be on the ice.

Lazar, Paul and defenceman Ben Harpur all attended Canada’s world junior evaluation camp earlier this month and are eligible to represent Canada at the world junior tournament in Montreal and Toronto.

Binghamton Senators coach Luke Richardson will serve as head coach of the Senators rookies, with Binghamton assistants Steve Stirling and Tim Marks also working the bench.

The Senators won last year’s tournament in London, posting a perfect 3-0 record.



Melnyk denies reports that state he's brought in minority partner


Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk took to Twitter Wednesday night to deny reports that he has brought in a minority partner for the NHL franchise.

A Frank Magazine article two weeks ago said that Dan Greenberg, owner of Ferguslea Properties Inc., and son of Minto founder Irving Greenberg, had invested in the club and could possibly take over majority ownership of the Senators. Greenberg is a passionate Senators fan and well known for his philanthropy in the Ottawa area, including an $11-million donation to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital in 2008.

On Wednesday, Twitter was abuzz with speculation about the possibility of an incoming minority shareholder for the Senators — Greenberg’s name wasn’t mentioned — and whether that would mean the possibility of the Senators increasing their payroll to move closer to the NHL’s salary cap.

Melnyk then responded on social media, saying he had not brought in new partners.

“Confirming the rumour, Ottawa Senators have 3 new equity partners: Sparkles, Frosty and Pebbles — my dogs. Great reporting,” he wrote on his @MelnykEugene twitter account.

Speculation about Melnyk seeking partners isn’t new, considering that the club currently ranks 28th among 30 NHL teams in payroll.

In July, Melnyk, who was also deeply involved in the horse racing industry for two decades, announced that he was washing his hands of that business, selling off his stable of horses for $5.2 million.



New three-year deal in hand, Craig Anderson ready to compete


OTTAWA, ONTARIO: February 21, 2014 -- Goalie Craig Anderson keeps his eye on the puck as the Ottawa Senators practice at the Bell Sensplex.

Perhaps, one day down the road, Robin Lehner will be the Ottawa Senators unquestioned top goaltender.

For now, though, it’s Craig Anderson who owns both the attitude and the contract of a number one NHL netminder.

While the three-year, $12.6 million contract extension Anderson signed Monday gives the Senators flexibility – Anderson can’t veto a trade – the 33-year-old is “ecstatic” about being under contract through the 2017-18 season and in helping backstop the club’s “energetic young players”.

That group includes Lehner, of course. Rather than being threatened, Anderson says he welcomes the challenge of fighting for playing time with the 23-year-old Lehner, who signed a three-year, $6.675 million deal of his own earlier this summer.

“Robin and I have gotten along very well for the last few years,” Anderson said in a conference call from his home in Florida.

“I expect him to get better and better every year. I’ve seen his work habits go through the roof the last few years. It’s good for the team for us to push each other, to have two good options.”

Pierre Dorion, the Senators assistant general manager, also says the internal competition will benefit everyone involved.

“We have one of the best tandems in the league,” Dorion said. “We have two guys who we feel can be number ones, who can go into the net at any time. They will work together and push each other.”

Anderson, who ranks second behind Patrick Lalime in every significant goaltending category in Senators history, has a record of 81-52-17, with a goals against average of 2.62 and a .920 save percentage with Ottawa.

His best days with the Senators came during the lockout shortened 2013 season, when he delivered a 12-9-2 record and a league leading 1.69 goals against average. Anderson was also outstanding in the Senators’ first round playoff victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Like the rest of the Senators, however, he took a step back into inconsistency last season, producing a 25-16-8 mark, with a 3.00 average and .911 save percentage.

With training camp three weeks away, he’s burning with motivation to get the Senators back to the playoffs, even if few outsiders give them much of a chance.

“I could have been better, as a group we could have been better (last season),” he said. “For the group inside the room, we have to believe in ourselves. We have to play for each other. As soon as you don’t believe in what you’re doing, you’re defeated.”

Anderson also says by getting a contract extension completed now – Anderson was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer – there should be nothing getting in the way of his preparation.

“It allows me to concentrate on stopping pucks,” he said. “We’re all human, we all have lives. It allows me to focus 100 per cent on the job, with no distractions.”

It’s important to remember, however, that the contract does not include any type of no-trade or limited trade clause, potential barriers to a future deal. That type of clause came into play earlier this summer, when Jason Spezza balked at a draft day deal which would have sent him to the Nashville Predators.

If the Senators are out of the playoff race and a team in the post-season chase is in search of a number one goaltender, Anderson will become a potential trade target. It’s also a de-escalating contract. Anderson will make $4.75 million in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and $3.1 million in 2017-18.

“Every negotiation is different,” said Dorion. “We felt it was important that there was no type of (no trade) clause in the contract.”

The way Anderson was talking Monday, however, leaving Ottawa was the furthest thing from his mind.

“It’s a good feeling knowing I’m going to be part of the Senators organization for the next four years,” he said.



Senators sign Clarke MacArthur to five-year extension


Here’s one reason for Ottawa Senators fans to feel better about the team’s future: The dynamic tandem of centre Kyle Turris and left winger Clarke MacArthur are going to be together for the foreseeable future.

MacArthur, who had one year remaining on his current contract, signed a five-year, $23.25-million extension Tuesday, keeping him under contract through the end of the 2019-20 season. Turris is entering the first year of the four-year contract extension he signed last summer.

“He’s such a character guy and he wanted to be in Ottawa,” Senators general manager Bryan Murray said in a conference call Tuesday. “Our happiness with his year last year was the reason to give him the deal we did.”

MacArthur, 29, finished fourth in scoring on the Senators last year, with 24 goals and 31 assists in 79 games. The extension will pay him $4.5 million in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons and $4.75 million in the following three seasons. It’s a significant long-term commitment to a player who has only played one season in Ottawa, but Murray is comfortable with the deal because of the major role MacArthur played last season and says it’s necessary in the current NHL marketplace.

“I think he’s going to be a little better of a player (in the future),” said Murray. “He is going to score in the 20-25 goal range on a somewhat consistent basis.”

Murray says the Turris-MacArthur combination “fit like a glove” last season.

Now that MacArthur is signed, sealed and delivered, the Senators will continue their work toward signing Bobby Ryan, who spent most of last season on right wing alongside MacArthur and Turris.

The Ryan negotiations have been going on since July 1, but Murray says a deal may not be reached until training camp because Ryan — like many pending UFA players — wants to wait to have a clearer picture of what type of salaries his peers are making. Ryan would be a hot commodity on the open market, giving him plenty of leverage in discussions with the Senators.

He scored 23 goals and had 25 assists in 70 games last season, attempting to play through a sports hernia injury in the second half of the season before opting for surgery. Ryan, 27, has scored more than 30 goals four times in his career.

Murray, however, remains optimistic about getting a deal done — eventually.

“He’s one of the next guys, definitely, that we’re going to try and keep.”

Defenceman Marc Methot and goaltender Craig Anderson are also headed into the final season of their current contracts.

Tuesday’s signing of MacArthur, which came on the heels of a three-year extension signed by defenceman Mark Borowiecki on Monday, is an indication of the club’s commitment to a particular group of players.

“I don’t know if (MacArthur) will necessarily wear a letter (as a captain or alternate captain), but he behaved like a captain, like a core member of the team, in his first year,” said Murray.



Melnyk optimistic about Senators' potential


Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has a history of making bold statements and he proudly boasted about the club’s community involvement Tuesday, claiming that “we’ve won the Stanley Cup in that area.”

As for his team on the ice, he stopped well short of a Stanley Cup or bust statement for the 2014-15 season. While he maintains hope about the Senators returning to the playoffs after taking a major step backwards last season, he isn’t getting too far ahead of himself, either.

“I think you can pretty well predict what we’re going to have on the ice,” said Melnyk, answering questions before several of those players poured a bucket of ice-filled water over his head as part of the ALS Ice Bucket challenge.

“If everyone just plays to their potential, I think it’s a great team and is going to be very competitive. And will be a playoff team. We just need to play up to the level that we know they can play to.”

Melnyk’s optimism aside, countless Senators fans have adopted a wait-and-see attitude about what’s next for the franchise.

There is uncertainty about the upcoming year, following back-to-back seasons when Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza left town, and with the club on a limited budget. At this point, the Senators have a payroll of $54.8 million for next season, 28th in the 30 team NHL.

With Bobby Ryan, Marc Methot and Craig Anderson all without contracts beyond next season, there’s also an uneasiness about that group leaving to become free agents next summer. The Senators did make a major move Tuesday, locking up left winger Clarke MacArthur to a five-year, $23.25 million extension.

MacArthur, who finished fourth in team scoring with 24 goals and 31 assists last season, is now under contract through the end of the 2019-20 season.

As for Spezza’s request for a trade – he was eventually dealt to Dallas — Melnyk grudgingly concedes that some players are going to come and go.

“It was his decision and I understood it,” said Melnyk. “I spoke to him as far back as five years ago and he was already starting to talk about potentially moving and this time around, he finally was looking for a change and I totally understand what he wanted to do.

“You can look at it as half full or half empty. Take a look at some of the players we did bring on (Alex Chiasson, along with prospects Nick Paul, Alex Guptill and a second round draft pick in 2015). Of course, it always is (frustrating), but that’s part of professional sports and…it’s a better get used to it kind of thing. It wasn’t easy in the beginning. It is disappointing but you’ve got to move on.”

The Senators owner is optimistic about the club’s injury situation. Former Norris Trophy winning defenceman Erik Karlsson, who also received an ice dunking Tuesday, has said he’s “miles ahead” of where he was last season following Achilles’ surgery.

Melnyk also likes the look of the club’s schedule, at least compared to a year ago. The opening of the 2013-14 season was a “disaster” according to Melnyk, when the Senators opened with six consecutive games on the road, including a three-game stretch in California where they were outclassed by Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim.

This time around, the Senators open the year with a three-game trip against Nashville, Tampa Bay and Florida, but then return home for four games.

“There’s no question in our minds and I think in all the players’ minds, that we have the potential to be, not only in the playoffs, but to be competitive for the whole year,” Melnyk said. “Once the playoff starts, everyone knows what happens…anything can happen. So, that’s the first step. Let’s get into the playoffs and let it run from there.”



Senator Clarke MacArthur wants to convince Bobby Ryan to stay a while


Clarke MacArthur says he won’t lose any sleep if the Ottawa Senators choose not to name him as an alternate captain next season.

He does, however, plan on doing his leadership part, aiming to convince Bobby Ryan to join him in signing a long-term extension.

“He’s a natural, he’s a player we want on the team,” MacArthur said Wednesday, talking publicly for the first time since signing a five-year, $23.25-million extension with the Senators on Tuesday. “If I can nudge him to stay, I’m going to try to.”

A Ryan deal won’t come easily or soon. General manager Bryan Murray said this week that Ryan, who is eligible to become a free agent next summer, could still be without an extension when training camp begins in September.

As for MacArthur, he’s ecstatic at the prospect of being under contract to the Senators for the next six seasons.

“My wife and I really like it in Ottawa – the people, the organization – a lot of things go into it,” the 29-year-old said. “Obviously, last year (not making the playoffs) was not what we were looking for, but we’re a young team on the up and up.”

MacArthur, who had an outstanding offensive season last year – 24 goals and 31 assists – playing on a line with Kyle Turris and Ryan until Ryan’s season-ending hernia surgery, says the focus has to be on making sure the team makes the necessary defensive sacrifices.

“We don’t need to be a team that has a 90-point player,” he said, pointing to the Boston Bruins, whose top six scorers last season all finished between 51-69 points.

The length of the MacArthur extension and its overall value – a $4.65 million salary cap hit – caught many NHL observers off guard.

Yet while owner Eugene Melnyk has received widespread criticism for failing to keep pace with the league’s big spenders (the Senators rank 28th in the 30-team NHL in 2014-15 payroll), the club has made a few other calculated gambles in recent years to keep core players in Ottawa.

One was reaching out to give Turris a five-year extension in the summer of 2012. At the time, Turris still had a year remaining on the two-year contract he had signed only months earlier, just before being traded to the Senators from Phoenix for the long forgotten David Rundblad.

Turris had shown flashes of talent in his first year in Ottawa, but like many young players, he was also inconsistent and had yet to play a full season in the NHL.

Still, the Senators looked down the road, recognizing that No. 1 centre Jason Spezza (who ended up missing most of the lockout season of 2012-13 with back problems) may not stay in Ottawa forever.

They took a leap of faith, handing Turris a five-year, $17.5-million contract extension. Locking up a centre with 31 career goals for six years? It raised some eyebrows.

Nobody’s questioning the contract now. After putting up 87 points in 130 games over the past two seasons – including a breakout 2013-14 season when he scored 26 goals and 32 assists – Turris’s annual salary cap hit of $3.5 million is a bargain in the big-money NHL. The Senators also don’t have to worry about losing him to free agency until 2018.

Given that Turris and MacArthur appear to be made for each other based on their play together last season, the Senators didn’t want to risk losing MacArthur after the season and gambled.

Now on to Colin Greening, who is only now entering into the first season of the three-year, $7.95 million extension he signed last summer.

Like Turris a year earlier, the Senators saw great potential in the left winger who was only a season away from free agency. They believed he was the type of power forward – 17 goals and 37 points playing primarily with

Spezza in 2011-12 – who could play anywhere in the lineup, score 15 to 20 goals every season, and who would cash in on the open market if left unsigned.

Yet after his disappointing 2013-14 season, when he slumped to only six goals and 11 assists and never had regular linemates, the Senators need much more to make him worth his contract.

When Melnyk said Tuesday he believes the Senators can make the playoffs next season if everyone plays to their potential, Greening’s name is one of the first to spring to mind.

MacArthur understands that more pressure comes with big contracts, but he says he won’t dramatically alter his game because of the new deal.

“There are things I want to improve, for sure,” he said. “But just because I have a five-year deal, it doesn’t change a whole lot.”

Still, Senators fans are hoping that the presence of MacArthur can have an impact on Ryan staying here. And on Melnyk opening his wallet a little wider.



Ex-Senator Kassian still looking for work

By Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun

Just over two weeks to camp and Matt Kassian is still battling for a job.

The Senators have closed the door on bringing back the tough guy next season and he's still a unrestricted free agent with no deal in place as NHL camps get set to open later this month.

Though Kassian has offers of two-way deals or pro tryouts on the table from four-or-five teams, he hasn't got anything in concrete in place. He doesn't seem overly concerned.

"I've been fairly consistent in my play. I'm not a skilled player but you know what you're going to get. It's a tough year for a lot of guys for contracts right now and there's a lot of guys out there looking." said Kassian.

Kassian said he would have been happy to return to the Senators, but the organization has decided to move on.

"I wanted to be back and they felt otherwise. That's their right as an organization," said Kassian. "They try to do what's best for them and they make the choices they make."

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.03.2014


Healthy Bobby Ryan hits town, preps for Senators camp

By Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa Sun

Bobby Ryan is coming in hot ... and healthy.

The Senators winger skated for the first time with his teammates during an informal session Tuesday at the Bell Sensplex and declared he’ll be fine for camp.

After having surgery to repair a sports hernia that hampered him much of last season, Ryan, who had 23 goals and 48 points in 70 games, is recovered from the surgery he had in late-March.

“All-in-all it was a great summer,” said Ryan. “We came back in July to get checked on to make sure we were progressing in the right way. It’s not a minor surgery but it’s not a major surgery.

“When they tell you 6-to-8 weeks, I think that was kind of rushing it a little bit. It was more like (14) weeks when I started to feel no pain. The past little while it’s been 100%. I’m beyond ready to go. I can’t wait.”

Following the procedure, Ryan spent the early part of the summer in Anaheim running and riding the bike as part of his recovery before stepping up his rehab.

He picked up his training after returning to his home in Idaho, is able to do pretty much everything in the gym and resumed skating about two weeks ago.

Arriving in Ottawa with plenty of time before training camp opens for the Senators on Sept. 18, it will give him time to get in some good skates before the work begins for real.

“It was a full three months before I got back on the ice and that was perfect,” said Ryan, who had to drive 80 minutes to get ice in Idaho. “I only skated four or five times (in Idaho) just to get a feel on how I was doing.

“I’ve got a couple of weeks before camp and I’ve got 10 great days here to push it. I’d like to get back (to where he was before). Last summer was the best summer I had coming in and feeling really well. Getting injured deterred that a little bit halfway through the year. We’re all excited. I will be 100% ready.”

Next on Ryan’s agenda could be a contract extension. Heading into the final year of his deal, Senators GM Bryan Murray and assistant Pierre Dorion have held talks with Ryan’s camp.

“They don’t really talk much to us unless they get to that point where they need to. I think I know about as little about it as everybody else,” said Ryan, who will make $5.1 million in the final year of his contract.

Dorion, who has handling most contract negotiations with Murray battling cancer, said recently the club plans to sit down with Ryan face-to-face before camp to see if they can get a deal done.

It’s believed the Senators have tabled several offers to Ryan _ short and long-term. The two sides have common ground in that Ryan wants to stay and the organization wants to keep him.

“Everything has been very amicable. All the sessions they’ve had. From what I’ve heard everything has been great,” said Ryan. “There’s plenty of common ground and there’s plenty of good discussions.

“I know Bryan had mentioned in the media that he was looking forward to me getting in the area so that there can be dialogue between us as well. As far as I’ve been told, there hasn’t been any animosity towards me. They’ve all been productive.”

Dealt to the Senators from Anaheim on July 5, 2013 in exchange for Jakob Silfverberg and a No. 1 pick, Ryan reiterated he’d be happy to stay in Ottawa.

“We loved it here. I loved it here. We expressed some interest and I still feel that way (about staying long-term),” said Ryan. “I’ve only played in one other place but this is the best group of guys I’ve played with.

“It’s a tight-knit team, the organization has been great and (owner) Eugene (Melnyk) has been great to me. I know there is a stigma around it because it’s Northeast, it’s Ottawa and it’s cold. Once guys get here and realize what a first-class organization it is their feelings change. I can only speak for myself but it’s certainly an area I’d like to be in.”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.03.2014

736517 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers give Zac Rinaldo a two-year contract extension

Frank Seravalli

The Flyers signed left wing Zac Rinaldo to a 2-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

Rinaldo, 24, a 5-11, 185-pounder, will be entering his fourth NHL season. He had two goals, two assists and 153 penalty minutes in 67 games last season. The 24-year-old was a sixth-round pick (178th overall) by the Flyers in the 2008 draft. He is a native of Mississauga, Ontario.

“Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career and this is where I want to be so I am really happy,” Rinaldo said in a release. “This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it.”

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 09.03.2014


Flyers sign Zac Rinaldo to two-year extension

Flyers fourth-line winger Zac Rinaldo, caught off guard by the offer, signed a two-year contract extension Tuesday.

"I'm surprised we'd even started to talk about it so early, but I'm thrilled," said Rinaldo, who added: "This definitely gives me a lot of confidence."

Rinaldo, 24, had two goals, two assists and 153 penalty minutes in 67 games last season, his third with the Flyers. He will earn $750,000 this season, and reportedly will be paid a total of $1.7 million over the next two years.

Last season, the Flyers gave Rinaldo some limited time on the penalty-killing unit, a role he hopes to have this year.

- Sam Carchidi



Flyers give Rinaldo a 2-year extension

FRANK SERAVALLI, Daily News Staff Writer [email protected]

More than 10 months before the expiration of his current contract, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall locked up Rinaldo to a fresh, 2-year extension, the team announced yesterday.

Rinaldo, 24, is now signed for the next three seasons by the team he grew up rooting for in Hamilton, Ontario.

According to Rogers Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, Rinaldo will earn a slight pay raise, to an average of $850,000 per season in 2015-16 and 2016-17. This season, Rinaldo is set to pull in $750,000.

"I'm surprised that we'd even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled," Rinaldo said in a statement. "Philadelphia is where I started my career and this is where I want to be, so I'm really happy. This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it."

Opinions among Flyers fans about Rinaldo have been polarizing in his first three NHL seasons. He is admired for ability to strike fear in opposing puck carriers with his thundering hits. He is reviled for his play along that thin, teetering line, which often earns him a seat in the penalty box.

No player in the NHL has been called for more individual penalties over the last three seasons than Rinaldo. Quite a few calls, it seems, are whistled based on reputation alone - or the loud crash from the boards, or the ooh and aah of the crowd after a hit.

Last season, Rinaldo was called for the second-most individual penalties in the NHL, behind only Buffalo's John Scott. His on-ice discipline dropped, especially compared with the previous, lockout-shortened 2013 season.

Last year, Rinaldo took an average of 3.0 penalties per 60 minutes, compared with the 1.7 penalties per game he drew out of opponents, according to BehindTheNet.ca. In 2013, Rinaldo actually drew more penalties per 60 minutes (3.2) than he took (2.3).

With Rinaldo now under the full-time tutelage and mentorship of assistant coach Ian Laperriere, the Flyers hope he can harness his speed and tenacity into a valuable fourth-line position. Under Laperriere last season, Rinaldo earned nearly 30 seconds of shorthanded play per game, compared with the 31 seconds he received in the entire 2013 campaign.

Rinaldo ranked second on the Flyers in hits last season (231) despite averaging only 7 minutes, 41 seconds in ice time per game. In other words, he threw approximately 2.23 hits for each minute he was on the ice.

He will embark on his fourth NHL season when training camp opens on Sept. 18. The Flyers open their preseason slate with split squad games on Sept. 22 in London, Ontario, and the Wells Fargo Center. The puck drops on the regular season on Oct. 8 in Boston.

Slap shots

Online gambling house Bovada.lv released its latest odds for the NHL season yesterday. The Flyers have the 15th-highest odds (middle of the pack) at 28-1 to win the Stanley Cup. Chicago (13-2) has the best odds to win; Peter Laviolette's Nashville Predators (75-1) have the worst.



Flyers' Rinaldo gets two-year, $1.7M contract extension

Wayne Fish Staff writer

Every team needs a player who has his teammates' backs.

On the Flyers, that guy is Zac Rinaldo.

One of the most popular players on the team, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Rinaldo supplies needed energy and is the model of accountability.

The Flyers appreciate that role and on Tuesday rewarded him with a two-year, $1.7-million contract extension which kicks in after the 2014-15 season, for which he is already signed.

This move keeps Rinaldo from the possibility of becoming a free agent in 2015.

“I’m surprised that we’d even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled,” Rinaldo said. “Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career and this is where I want to be so I am really happy.

"This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it.”

Rinaldo, 24, will be entering his fourth NHL season in 2014-15. He appeared in 67 games for the Flyers last season, recording two goals and two assists along with 153 penalty minutes. He ranked second on the Flyers with 231 hits while playing an average of 7:41 per game, giving him an average of 2.23 hits per minute of ice time.

After concluding his Ontario Hockey League junior career in 2010, Rinaldo joined the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, for the 2010-11 season. He appeared in 60 games, recording three goals and six assists while ranking second in the AHL with 331 penalty minutes.

Rinaldo joined the Flyers for the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, appearing in two games, and made his regular season Flyers debut the following season.

He appeared in 66 games that year, posting two goals and nine assists while ranking second in the NHL in penalty minutes with 232. He was second on the Flyers in hits (175) while playing just 7:28 per game, giving him an average of 2.82 hits per minute of ice time.

He played 31 more games for the Phantoms in the first part of 2012-13, recording two goals, three assists before the start of the NHL season. With the Flyers, Rinaldo recorded three goals, two assists and 85 penalty minutes in 32 games that year.

A native of Mississauga, Ont., Rinaldo was selected by the Flyers in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Burlington County Times LOADED: 09.03.2014


Flyers extend Rinaldo's contract

By ROB PARENT, [email protected]

Zac Rinaldo was surprised, so don’t be surprised that so many Flyers observers would also be surprised about the timing of the club offering the fourth-line winger/referee whipping boy a two-year contract extension prior to the start of the season.

Rinaldo, 24, eagerly accepted the reported offer of two more years at a total of $1.7 million. That represents a modest raise of $100,000 per year over the terms of the contract set to expire after this season.

Certainly the couple hundred large should cover Rinaldo’s league disciplinary bills for years to come.

No matter the dollar figure, Rinaldo noted how, well, surprised he was that an offer came prior to the opening of training camp.

“I’m surprised that we’d even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled,” Rinaldo said in a statement. “Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career and this is where I want to be, so I am really happy. This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it.”

Rinaldo is entering his fourth season, but averaged only seven minutes and change per game while appearing in 67 Flyers games last season, and contributed just two goals and two assists.

So scoring isn’t exactly his thing. But he also gave the club 153 penalty minutes, which is actually down from his wild days as a youth. He also added 231 hits last season, second highest on the team.

At 5-11 (in skates?) and 169 pounds (with pads on?), Rinaldo is a quick skater who never hesitates to mix it up physically with the opposition. He still plays with an edge, and long ago made a name for himself with referees. He also has only seven career goals in 165 NHL games.

Apparently, even with Ron Hextall preparing for his first season as an NHL general manager, Rinaldo and his style of play still carries value for the Flyers.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 09.03.2014


Flyers, Rinaldo come to terms on 2-year deal

The Flyers on Tuesday extended left winger Zac Rinaldo's contract by two years. Rinaldo would have been on the final year of his current deal this season.

Rinaldo will earn $750,000 this season. His extension provides a $100,000 raise in each year, making the deal worth $1.7 million.

A four-year veteran, Rinaldo scored two goals and registered two assists and 153 penalty minutes in 67 games for the Flyers last season. He also was second on the team with 231 hits despite playing an average of just more than seven minutes per game.

“I’m surprised that we’d even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled,” Rinaldo said in a release issued by the Flyers. “Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career and this is where I want to be so I am really happy. This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player and this is the place to do it.”

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Rinaldo made his debut with the Flyers during the 2011 playoffs. He made his regular-season debut for the Flyers in the 2011-12 season. Drafted by the Flyers in the sixth round in 2008, Rinaldo played juniors for two seasons before joining the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2010.



Zac Rinaldo signs two-year extension with Flyers

Dave Isaac, Courier-Post 5:04 p.m. EDT September 2, 2014

The move seems a little strange considering the direction new general manager Ron Hextall said he wanted to go in and the signings he's made thus far.

Hextall has talked about wanting to get skill players time with the puck and having more of an offensive game.

Zac Rinaldo has seven career goals in 165 NHL games, all with the Flyers, but something impressed Hextall to give the 24-year-old left wing a two-year extension reportedly worth $850,000 per season, a raise from his current deal which gives him $750,000 per year. Rinaldo still has another year to go on his current pact, which would have made him a restricted free agent after the 2014-15 season.

Now he's under contract until July 2017. Even Rinaldo himself didn't suspect the timing.

"I'm surprised that we'd even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled," Rinaldo said in a press release. "Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career and this is where I want to be so I am really happy. This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it."

Rinaldo, a 2008 sixth-round pick, has been taken under the wing of assistant coach Ian Laperriere to be more disciplined and considered for a penalty-killing role. So far in his career, Rinaldo is known just as much for taking penalties as he is for anything else. He has 470 career penalty minutes, including 153 last season.

Usually a fourth-line player, it's strange to see the Flyers lock Rinaldo down with a new contract so early when his role with the team probably won't be all that substantive. His game is energy and physicality. He had the second highest hit total on the team last year with 231. He did it in only 7:42 of ice time per game, while team-leader Luke Schenn averaged 16:32 per game.

Courier-Post LOADED: 09.03.2014


Flyers extend Rinaldo for two years

Dave Isaac, Courier-Post 9:36 p.m. EDT September 2, 2014

Without much salary-cap space to improve his team through free agency this summer, Flyers GM Ron Hextall is banking on his players to flat out improve.

In fact, he’s hoping his young forwards’ maturation is the biggest addition to the team as training camp rolls around in a couple weeks.

“You’ve always got to get better from within,” Hextall said last week in an interview with the Courier-Post. “Our young forward group, that’s our focus, is getting better from within. I think it starts with being in the best shape you can be in, and I think there’s another level we can get to.”

There was no mention in that conversation about Zac Rinaldo, though. The fourth-line winger is hardly part of the core group, yet he still earned a two-year extension with the Flyers.

Rinaldo, 24, plays a physical, energy game, not the offensive, puck-possession game Hextall has been preaching a lot this summer.

The Mississauga, Ontario, native has seven career goals in 165 NHL games, all with the Flyers. His extension is worth $850,000 per season, a raise from his current deal, which gives him $750,000 per year.

Rinaldo still has another year to go on his current pact, which would have made him a restricted free agent after the 2014-15 season. It’s strange to see the Flyers lock Rinaldo down with a new contract so early when his role with the team probably won’t be all that substantive. They wouldn’t have had much trouble doing the deal next summer, if they wished to retain him.

Now he’s under contract until July 2017. Even Rinaldo himself didn’t suspect the timing.

“I’m surprised that we’d even started to talk about it so early, but I am thrilled,” Rinaldo said in a statement. “Philadelphia is where I started my NHL career, and this is where I want to be, so I am really happy. This definitely gives me a lot of confidence by the Flyers showing that they have confidence in me. I know they want to see me get better as a player, and this is the place to do it.”

The 2008 sixth-round pick has been taken under the wing of assistant coach Ian Laperriere to be more disciplined and considered for a penalty-killing role. So far in his career, Rinaldo is known just as much for taking penalties as he is for anything else. He has 470 career penalty minutes, including 153 last season.

His biggest assets are his hits. He had the second-highest total on the team last year with 231.

He did it in only 7:42 of ice time per game, while team leader Luke Schenn averaged 16:32 per game.

As for being in Hextall-approved shape for this season, Rinaldo already has been in town a while prepping for training camp by taking part in informal skates at the team’s practice facility.

Courier-Post LOADED: 09.03.2014

736525 San Jose Sharks

Sharks Outlook: Hannan could have diminished role

In the playoffs, veteran Scott Hannan skated in all seven games against the Kings with two assists and a +1 rating. (USATSI)

SHARKS OUTLOOK

D Justin Braun

F Mike Brown

F Adam Burish

D Brent Burns

F Logan Couture

D Jason Demers

F Andrew Desjardins

F Freddie Hamilton

D Scott Hannan

Tomas Hertl - Sep. 3

Matt Irwin - Sep. 4

Tyler Kennedy - Sep. 5

Patrick Marleau - Sep. 6

Micro Mueller - Sep. 7

Antti Niemi - Sep. 8

Matt Nieto - Sep. 9

Joe Pavelski - Sep. 10

John Scott - Sep. 11

James Sheppard - Sep. 12

Alex Stalock - Sep. 13

Joe Thornton - Sep. 14

Raffi Torres - Sep. 15

Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Sep. 16

Tommy Wingels - Sep. 17

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series in which Insider Kevin Kurz will highlight a different Sharks player every day leading up to the start of NHL training camp.

Name/Position: Scott Hannan, defenseman

Age: 35

Salary: $1 million

Contract status: Pending unrestricted free agent

2013-14 year in review: Scott Hannan got into 56 regular season games last season, posting three goals and adding nine assists for 12 points and 55 penalty minutes. He’s not a flashy guy by any means but he gave the team some good minutes, especially early in the season when he suited up for 28 of the first 29 games. Hannan spent an average of one minute and 52 seconds on the penalty kill, fourth on the team. In the playoffs, the veteran skated in all seven games against the Kings with two assists and a +1 rating.

2014-15 outlook: There were some eyebrows raised when Hannan re-signed with the Sharks this offseason, as bringing back a 35-year-old when management’s aim is to become a younger team seems irrational.

There are some reasons why it may make sense, though. After Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the Sharks have some question marks on the left side of the defense. Matt Irwin has struggled to stay in the lineup on a nightly basis, and former first round pick Mirco Mueller may not be NHL-ready. Hannan, now the only defenseman on the roster over 30, can step in if

needed and perhaps help some of the prospects along in the early stages of their careers as his own career winds down.

The biggest risk with Hannan may be his health. He missed five games with an unspecified upper body injury in December, seven games in late January after a high hit from Detroit’s Danny Cleary, and another game in April after Colorado’s Patrick Bordeleau got him in the noggin. Hannan had a suspected concussion when he was acquired from Nashville on April 3, 2013, too.

Hannan has played 997 career NHL games, so he’ll reach a major career milestone at some point this season when he plays in his 1000th game. It could come early, or he may have to wait a few weeks, depending on how the blue line shakes out in training camp.


736526 St Louis Blues

Blues agree to terms with first-round pick Fabbri

Robby Fabbri 2014 potential poster. Tony Saxon/Guelph Mercury.

The Blues and forward Robby Fabbri have come to an agreement on a three-year, entry-level contract.

Fabbri, 18, was the Blues' first-round pick pick (No. 21 overall) in last June's NHL draft.

Fabbri posted 45 goals and 87 points for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League in 2013-14. He led the Storm to OHL championship and was the league's playoff MVP with 13 goals and 28 points in 16 games.

Fabbri, who was in St. Louis this summer for the Blues' Development Camp, will play for the club at the 2014 Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., starting on Sept. 12.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 09.03.2014

736527 St Louis Blues

Blues sign top draft pick; Oshie to make O'Fallon visit

By NORM SANDERS

Center Robby Fabbri, the St. Louis Blues' first-round pick in the 2014 draft, signed a three-year, two-way entry level contract with the club on Tuesday.

The 18-year old forward had 45 goals and 87 points in just 58 games for the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm last season. The Storm also won the league championship, with Fabbri contributing a team-high 13 goals and 28 points in 16 postseason games to earn league playoff Most Valuable Player honors.

In 2012-13, Fabbri was Guelph's Rookie of the Year when he had 10 goals and 33 points in 59 games. He also has a gold medal with Canada's under-18 squad that won the Ivan Hlinka Tournament.

Fabbri will join some of the other top Blues prospects for the 2014 Prospects Tournament that begins Sept. 12 in Traverse City, Mich.

* At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Blues forward T.J. Oshie will make a guest appearance at the Global Brew Tap House in O'Fallon as part of the annual KMOX Blues Caravan Tour. The address for the event is 455 Regency Park Drive in O'Fallon.

Team broadcaster Chris Kerber will also be at the event, which gives Blues fans 21 and older a chance for autographs and prizes.

Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 09.03.2014

736528 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs: Matt Frattin back after ‘tough year’ with Kings, Blue Jackets

By: Kevin McGran Sports Reporter, Published on Tue Sep 02 2014

The repatriated Maple Leaf learned that hockey is a business — he was traded three times. He learned you can’t take a night off. His time with the L.A. Kings showed him that.

And he learned you can go home again.

Frattin is back in town skating at the MasterCard Centre with other Leafs and Marlies in advance of training camp, which opens Sept. 18.

“It was a little bit of a tough year, but I learned a lot in L.A. to play a defensive game and taking care of your own zone,” said Frattin. “They have a very good structure and they’ve been very good the past three years. Columbus is a very good young team, too, they’re on the rise this year, a team to watch. But I’m excited to be back with Toronto.”

The Leafs dispatched Frattin along with Ben Scrivens to the L.A. Kings for goalie Jonathan Bernier last summer. By the time the Leafs played in Los Angeles on March 13, both had moved on: Scrivens to Edmonton and Frattin to Columbus.

The Leafs got him back this summer, sending Jerry D’Amigo to the Blue Jackets.

“It’s a business,” said Frattin. “Teams want to acquire a player or give another player an opportunity. I had an opportunity in L.A. and they’re a very good team, obviously showing that by winning the Cup. But I learned you have to fight for your job and hold on to it.”

Leafs GM Dave Nonis made no bones about the fact that the team lost something in terms of energy and chemistry without Frattin and Leo Komarov, another forward repatriated after a year away. Nonis is trying to rebottle that lightning.

“(Two years ago) it was playing with energy and playing fast,” said Frattin. “If you look at the series against Boston, the games we were winning, we were using our speed, making them work and try to keep up with us. We were a very fast team up and down the lineup. We have to use that as a team.

“That was the first time the Leafs made the playoffs (in eight years). It was great for the city, great for the team and we still have quite a bit of those guys who were in that run for the playoffs and we have to try and get back there.”

The question is where does Frattin fit in? Two years ago, he played well with Nazem Kadri, who has since taken control of the second line. He could fit in there with Joffrey Lupul on the other wing.

David Clarkson would be the heir apparent, with other new signings like David Booth or Mike Santorelli or even draft pick William Nylander having a claim on that job.

“That’s (coach Randy) Carlyle’s call,” said Frattin. “I just have to come out here and play like I can and wherever they can fit me in, that’s where I have to go and try and get as much ice as I can.

“I’m a well-rounded guy who can come with speed. The biggest thing is to build chemistry with guys you can stick with. They’ve brought a lot of guys in and everyone’s going to be fighting for jobs.”

“Except for our first line of Phil, Bozie and JVR, (Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk) who’ve been together three years now, everyone is going to be fighting for jobs,” said Frattin. “It’s not just Toronto. In L.A. and Columbus, everyone around the whole league will be fighting for ice time. That’s how good the league is now with all the young guys coming in.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 09.03.2014


New Maple Leafs cap expert Brandon Pridham trades dream jobs


Brandon Pridham was a teenager with the Collingwood Blues in Junior A hockey, fostering dreams of making it to the NHL like most of his friends.

Then he blew out his shoulder.

“My surgeon’s advice, I’ll always remember: ‘You better hit the books,’ ” recalls Pridham, the newest assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. “That was the beginning of the end. But at 150 pounds at that time, it was probably always better to hit the books.”

Pridham did make the NHL by hitting the books, taking kinesiology and marketing at York University before getting into sports marketing at George Brown College. He landed an internship with the league’s retail licensing and marketing department.

That was 15 years ago. The 40-year-old stayed there in his “dream job” — moving through central scouting and central registry — until his other dream job came calling: a front-office gig with the Leafs.

It was team president Brendan Shanahan, aware of Pridham’s expertise with the salary cap from their days in the league together, who made the initial call.

“I’ve always wanted to get to a club,” says Pridham. “At the same time it was a tough decision in a lot of ways. It was a dream job there.

“I know this is a dream job as well. I had some discussions with my wife, and it didn’t take long to accept this offer.”

Pridham is barely two weeks into his new job, essentially replacing Claude Loiselle as the capologist and contract expert. He joins Kyle Dubas, 28, in a remodelled Maple Leafs front office under GM Dave Nonis, the only one — including Shanahan — who has any experience running an NHL team.

They’re an eclectic mix:

Shanahan, the Hockey Hall of Fame player and former league disciplinarian who seems to embrace outside-the-box thinking. He’s the only one of the four to have played in the NHL, unusually low for a team front office these days.

Nonis, the veteran GM who has long preached patience as a means to build a winner. The building process that began with Nonis playing second fiddle to Brian Burke continues nearly uninterrupted under Shanahan.

Dubas, a wunderkind with a mind for both hockey and numbers, someone whose fresh outlook has already inspired fans.

Pridham, more used to being behind the scenes at the league office but someone who knows everyone and — as the league’s salary cap and collective bargaining enforcer — also knows their weaknesses.

In his final year with the league, Pridham was the senior adviser of central scouting, which gives him a solid knowledge of young players on the rise, as well as senior director of the central registry — the top cop, if you will, when it came to the salary cap, collective bargaining, the waiver process and trade calls. He was one of a handful of people who advised teams about what’s allowed cap-wise — how long-term injured time and bonus money are counted — and monitored trades to make sure both teams fully understood the financial impact.

“It will be helpful to keep an eye, from the outside now, on everybody else to see what their positions are, and keeping our staff informed of what other people are up to, and what we’re up to with the cap as well,” says Pridham.

There’s a lot Pridham is excited about, especially working with Nonis and Shanahan. His exact role, how he fits in with Dubas and the rest of the front office, will sort itself out over time.

He was happy that it was the Leafs who came calling — other teams have tried to pry him away — in part because he gets to keep living in Stouffville with his wife Sue and two kids, 11-year-old Olivia and 8-year-old Jack, who don’t have to change schools.

He can also cheer for a team again after a career in which official neutrality was not just the policy but a way of life. It’s the team he grew up loving.

“My best memories as a kid are going to Maple Leaf Gardens and watching those teams,” says Pridham. “I loved it. It was a great place to go as a hockey fan. The 15 years at the league really did make me impartial. Now it will be getting back to rooting for one team.”



Peter Holland expects competitive training camp with Maple Leafs


Even though Peter Holland had arguably the shortest summer of any Maple Leaf, he can’t wait to get back on the ice.

Holland, of course, was loaned to the Toronto Marlies when the Leafs failed to make the playoffs, and the big centre had a long run — through to June 3 — with the AHL farm team.

“Going far in the playoffs was very exciting and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” said Holland, who has begun working out informally with other Leafs and Marlies at the MasterCard Centre. “It was one of the shortest summers I’ve had in my career.

“Hopefully just going to build off that momentum going into camp this year.”

This will be Holland’s first camp as a Maple Leaf. He was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in-season for Jesse Blacker at a time when the Leafs were bereft of centres.

“To have had a taste last season just makes me hungrier to make the big club,” said Holland. “I thought I ended pretty strongly with the Marlies and I want to build and make this club off the get-go.”

He performed well, with five goals and five assists in 39 games for the Leafs. Playing a bigger role with the Marlies, he had five goals and five assists in 14 games. In the AHL playoffs, he had seven goals and eight assists in 11 games.

That earned him a two-year, $1.55 million deal this summer. It might have looked as if he was a lock for a third-line centre role with the Leafs at one point.

But the addition of free agent centres Mike Santorelli and Petri Kontiola changes that equation. Factor in what a good camp from Frederik Gauthier might mean, or the fact that Leo Komarov can play centre, and Holland knows he’ll have to fight for his job.

“It’s going to be a competitive training camp,” said Holland. “Everyone had to expect that with the downfall we had towards the end of last season. They want to make sure we’re ready right off the get-go. That will be evident at camp. Guys are going to be fighting for jobs and there are only so many jobs.”



Daniel Winnik takes the long way home to Maple Leafs

By Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun

Daniel Winnik took the long way home to Toronto and the Maple Leafs during Labour Day weekend.

He, his girlfriend and trusted English bulldog Mario made the three-day drive in a Range Rover from his last posting in Anaheim, arriving on Monday night. Then it was right on the ice on Tuesday morning with his new teammates and Marlies farmhands for an informal workout.

The Mississauga-born Winnik, a grad of the old Wexford Raiders as a junior, was the last part of general manager Dave Nonis’ summer signing blitz. He looked fresh enough for having just covered 3,479 kilometres.

“My year in the minors, I drove back from San Antonio by myself,” Winnik recalled. “We timed this drive out to 13 hours every day. We stopped in Rawlins, Wyo., and Quad Cities, Iowa. Saw a lot of flat land in Nebraska. Sadly, we drove through the beautiful part of Wyoming at night.

“The dog made it all right. He slept basically the whole way.”

Winnik can’t wait to get into true camp mode. He’s been gone 11 years from these parts, building a career at the University of New Hampshire and in four Western Conference cites: Phoenix, Colorado, San Jose and finally, Anaheim.

With a career-high 24 assists last season, he was considered a good UFA catch, but it took time for agent Pat Morris and the Leafs to settle on a price: One year at $1.3 million US. The 6-foot-2 Winnik can play centre or left wing and will be an invaluable coaching resource in games against the West.

“It’s two different styles when East plays West,” Winnik agreed. “A little more defensive in the West, a little more grinding. The East is a little more open. I don’t think I’ll be a free-wheeling guy. I’ll look to bring a Western style, hard nosed, defence-first kind of attitude.”

Winnik will join a competitive camp in two weeks for bottom-six forward spots with fellow newcomers Leo Komarov, Matt Frattin, Mike Santorelli, David Booth and Petri Kontiola. The incumbents include Peter Holland, Colton Orr, Frazer McLaren and Trevor Smith. That’s too many bodies for an NHL roster, so the Marlies will scoop whoever isn’t claimed on waivers.

Winnik has some penalty-killing prowess, which could elevate him in coach Randy Carlyle’s plans after major problems in that area last season. And his analytics read-out is said to be positive, with some linking his signing to the arrival of assistant GM/numbers cruncher Kyle Dubas a few days earlier.

“The phones weren’t ringing at all for me,” Winnik said of early July when the UFA market opened. “It was a little frustrating, but I’d been through it before. Just preach patience and something will come along.

“I just really like the makeup of the team and the possibilities of winning here. Nothing against the East, but it seems any team can come out of (the conference) where the West is a little more rigid.”

Winnik also played a year with Smith at UNH and knows fellow grad James van Riemsdyk, as well as Tyler Bozak, Phil Kessel and James Reimer.

Winnik, a huge Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark fan when the team was a regular playoff contender, looks forward to helping restore some of that confidence.

“I hope it works out and I think it will. I’m looking forward to the season starting.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.03.2014


Maple Leafs’ Daniel Winnik ready to display ‘hard-nosed, defence-first attitude’

Michael Traikos | September 2, 2014 | Last Updated: Sep 2 7:04 PM ET

TORONTO — Grab the dog, pack up the Range Rover and head east on I-80.

Five ways Toronto Maple Leafs have changed their culture this off-season

That was the plan that Daniel Winnik hatched last week when he and his girlfriend and their English Bulldog, Mario (named after the popular Nintendo character) decided to make the approximately 4,000-km journey from Anaheim, California to Toronto. Stick to one highway and just drive, stopping occasionally for a bite to eat and to sleep. Timed properly, he should cover 13 hours a day and arrive on Labour Day.

It seemed like a simple plan. But there were obvious challenges.

The beauty of the road is lost when it’s pitch dark outside and all you see are headlights. There were stretches that were mind-numbingly boring, like when they went through Nashville and the road seemed to stretch on forever and ever.

“The dog made it all right,” said Winnik. “He slept basically the whole way.”

Winnik had made a similar drive before from San Antonio to Toronto. But this time was different. There was something about moving from West to East, a symbolism that cannot really be explained, that made it all worthwhile.

Winnik was born in Mississauga, Ont. but had spent his entire NHL career playing in Phoenix, Colorado, San Jose and Anaheim. The hockey is different in the West, he said. It’s more physical, more grinding, more defensive. Now, after seven years he was heading to the East to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in a conference where the hockey seemed as wide open as a four-lane highway.

Does that mean Winnik, who scored six goals and 30 points in 76 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season, is hoping to expand his offensive game?

“Yeah, I don’t think I will be a free-wheeling guy,” said the 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward, who was on the ice with his new teammates on Tuesday morning at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence. “I’ll bring the western style, kind of hard-nosed, and defence-first attitude.”

Winnik had been playing for Anaheim when Toronto completed a California road trip in March with wins against the Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. At the time, the Leafs seemed on their way to claiming home-ice advantage for the playoffs. Instead, they went on an eight-game losing streak and won just two of their final 14 games.

I’m excited. I was a Leafs fan. I hope it works out. I think it will. I really like the makeup of the team and the possibilities of winning here

It was, according to Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle, a “mind-boggling” collapse. Winnik said the view from Anaheim was not much different.

“I mean, they got through California, which is usually a really tough time for teams because they were three pretty tough teams last year, he said. “We couldn’t understand what was happening, why they collapsed. Hopefully that won’t happen this time.”

It might be a bit of a stretch to expect a projected third or fourth-line forward to have a big impact. But for a Toronto team that relied solely on its top-three lines and kept its enforcers’ butts planted firmly on the bench, the addition of Winnik — along with Mike Santorelli, Leo Komarov, Matt Frattin, Petri Kontiola and David Booth — should open up some options for head coach Randy Carlyle.

In Anaheim, Winnik averaged more ice time (15 minutes and 23 seconds per game) than Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Jakob Silfverberg. He also finished with more points. But his role as a penalty killer was likely the reason the Leafs, who had the third-worst percentage in the league, signed him to a one-year contract worth US$1.3-million.

The 29-year-old ranked 16th in the league in short-handed ice time last season and should fill the void created by the departure of free-agent centre

Jay McClement, who ranked second in the league in short-handed ice time. His ability to play centre or the wing is also a bonus, depending on where he fits onto the roster.

“I’m excited. I was a Leafs fan,” said Winnik, who is the first hometown player since the team acquired David Clarkson last year. “I hope it works out. I think it will. It’s not set in stone where I’ll play on this team. But I really like the makeup of the team and the possibilities of winning here.

“Again, nothing against the East, but it seems that every team can come out of the East.”

National Post LOADED: 09.03.2014

736533 Winnipeg Jets

Jets' pick Ehlers signed and sealed, hopefully delivers

By: Tim Campbell

THE Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with 2014 first-round draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers.

As a first-year forward in the QMJHL in 2013-14, Ehlers put up 49 goals and 55 assists in 63 regular-season games for the Halifax Mooseheads. He added 28 points in 16 playoff games and then received numerous post-season awards.

Those included: league rookie of the year, offensive rookie of the year, best professional prospect, a spot on the QMJHL's all-rookie team, a spot on the QMJHL second all-star team and BMO CHL rookie of the year.

The left-winger was chosen ninth overall by the Jets at the entry draft in Philadelphia in June.

Ehlers' deal is a two-way contract for a duration of three years -- what's prescribed by the collective bargaining agreement. It's average value over the three years is $1.625 million per season, which includes games-played and other performance bonuses strictly regulated by the CBA.

The maximum entry-level salary is $925,000. A signing bonus can be a maximum of 10 per cent.

A games-played bonus is allowed and other than that, only bonuses set out in the CBA -- for example, a bonus is allowed for points in a regular season so long as there's a minimum of 60 -- are permitted, and those performance bonuses may not exceed $850,000 in any one season.

Ehlers' eventual cap hit could well be lower than the $1.625 million announced, depending on how many of his bonus clauses kick in.

His contract may also be kicked down the road a year or two if he does not play 10 games in the NHL in a season and is sent back to junior.

Such was the case twice with 2011 first-rounder Mark Scheifele.

Among the top 10 picks at this year's draft, Ehlers is the seventh player to agree to a contract with his team.

Only first-overall pick Aaron Eklbad of the Panthers, fifth-overall pick Michael Dal Colle of the Islanders and Nick Ritchie of the Ducks (10th overall) have not yet signed deals.

Ehlers, 18, was born in Aalborg, Denmark and played in Switzerland before coming to the QMJHL last season.

He is expected to be in the lineup for the Jets when the team participates in the Young Stars Classic rookie and prospects tournament starting Sept. 12 in Penticton, B.C.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 09.03.2014


Jets sign first-round draft pick

By: Tim Campbell

The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with 2014 first-round draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers.

As a first-year forward in the QMJHL in 2013-14, Elhers put up 49 goals and 55 assists for the Halifax Mooseheads. He was chosen ninth overall by the Jets at the entry draft in Philadelphia in June.

The deal is a two-way contract for a duration of three years — what’s prescribed by the collective bargaining agreement. It’s average value over the three years is $1.625 million per season, which includes games played and other performance bonuses strictly regulated by the CBA.

Ehlers, 18, was born in Aalborg, Denmark and played in Switzerland before coming to the QMJHL last season.

He is expected to be in the lineup for the Jets when the team participates in the Young Stars Classic rookie and prospects tournament starting Sept. 12 in Penticton, B.C.

-30-

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 09.03.2014


Jets sign 2014 top draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers to entry-level contract

By Kirk Penton, Winnipeg Sun

The Winnipeg Jets have signed their first-round draft pick from earlier this year.

Speedy left-winger Nikolaj Ehlers on Tuesday signed a three-year contract with an average annual value of $1.625 million. The Jets picked the Aalborg, Denmark, product ninth overall at this year’s draft in Philadelphia.

The 18-year-old Ehlers appeared in 63 games last year for the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, and he scored 49 goals and added 55 assists. He was named the Canadian Hockey League’s rookie of the year.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 09.03.2014

736536 Vancouver Canucks

Gallagher: There’s no salary cap on an NHL front office

By Tony Gallagher, The Province September 2, 2014 9:40 PM

The Vancouver Canucks essentially replaced GM Mike Gillis with four guys: president Trevor Linden, left, GM Jim Benning, right, VP of administration TC Carling and VP of player personnel John Weisbrod.

One of the many things that have taken place over the summer with the Vancouver Canucks has come about quietly, but once again it shows how much the ownership wants to bring a Stanley Cup to this town.

They have definitely gotten in their own way at times, but if you ever needed a more graphic demonstration of how much the Aquilini family wishes to succeed on the ice, you only have to look at the front office to see how they’re trying to push every advantage they might have as a high-revenue team.

Hamstrung in what they can spend by the salary cap, like the Toronto Maple Leafs and a few of the other high-revenue teams are doing, they have expanded the number of people in the front office looking for all the additional help they can find in unearthing ideas and players that one day might be the difference in winning it all.

Consider that former president and general manger Mike Gillis has essentially been replaced by four people. Trevor Linden and his hire Jim Benning have combined to become what will hopefully act as a two-headed president and general manager, although Gillis and Laurence Gilman essentially did that under the old regime.

But Gilman, Lorne Henning and Stan Smyl have all been wisely retained from that regime and two more guys have been added in the hockey-management department in VP of administration TC Carling and VP of player personnel John Weisbrod.

Add any more and the VP meetings, which include all the people from the other departments, will have to be held in the lower bowl of Rogers Arena.

While skeptics might think this is overkill or hiring of friends or that there might be squabbling over areas of responsibility, it’s actually not a bad idea for the ownership to pay the extra money for these guys to help, both with new ideas from different organizations or an extra sets of eyes on any number of key areas.

For starters, both Linden and Benning are new at their jobs. Although Benning has watched (president) Cam Neely and (GM) Peter Chiarelli function in Boston for years, he is experiencing making the call for the first time. There’s going to be some uncertainty, although the start hasn’t shown that in terms of decisive behaviour at least. Whether the moves were wise ones or not is yet to be determined, but he hasn’t hesitated in pulling the trigger.

The same is happening in the coaching ranks. With Willie Desjardins taking over an NHL team for the first time he is getting lots of help, with an extra coach being added.

Again, a pretty good idea if the owner will invest in this area. Whereas John Tortorella had a video coach and two assistants in Mike Sullivan and Glen Gulutzan, new video coach Ben Cooper will be joined by the returning Gulutzan and both Perry Pearn and former Canuck defenceman Doug Lidster.

The experience of both Pearn and Gulutzan should be a huge help to Desjardins in this intense market, although leaving the latter in charge of the power play, which was so lame last season, certainly raises some eyebrows.

While all these guys make really good salaries by common standards, the investment has a chance to pay off big. If just one idea or one bit of advice leads to getting or developing a good, or perhaps even great, player then the payoff can cover those salaries in a heartbeat.

While there are many different areas and different ways these extra influences can help, a good example is Chris Tanev. Whoever discovered him or made the right presentation to influence him to sign in Vancouver clearly helped this team far in excess of whatever he was being paid, as some teams who weren’t scouting U.S. colleges extensively at the time

probably weren’t even aware of what Tanev was capable of achieving in this league.

If this extra help the Leafs or Canucks are adding can add one more Tanev (preferably a forward this time please!), this policy will be a winner.

At that point, we’ll have to see how the league manages to find a way to stop it.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 09.03.2014

736537 Websites

ESPN / Johansen impasse looms over Columbus

By Pierre LeBrun

Where did the summer go?

First day back on the job as I catch up on what I’ve missed since checking out in early July, and what piques my attention is what’s playing out in Columbus.

Young franchise center Ryan Johansen remains unsigned as camp approaches this month, a delicate and incredibly important situation that doesn’t seem close to a resolution at this point.

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com on Tuesday there’s been next to no dialogue for a while as both sides remain more than $3 million apart per season on a proposed two-year contract.

Columbus center Ryan Johansen had a breakout season with 33 goals and 30 assists.

That’s a sizable gap to be sure.

The sense is that the Johansen camp is willing to go longer on term but the team at this point is more fixated on a two-year bridge deal.

There are different layers to this squabble. From 10,000 feet above, there’s the baggage that this organization carries and the danger of alienating a core fan base that has been so, so patient through all the down years. An ugly fight with perhaps the young star most popular with the fan base is not the kind of thing you want when you consider the history here with Rick Nash, etc.

It comes at a time when things have looked so good in Columbus. A well-deserved playoff berth last spring comes on the heels of what’s been going on off the ice, where an important culture shift occurred after the hiring of John Davidson as team president. Things are done the right way under Davidson and it shows. This team is on the rise and I think it will continue to surprise people this season.

But a contract squabble with the team’s young scoring leader has the chance to undo so much of the goodwill that was earned in the market last season.

The nuts and bolts: It’s believed the Johansen camp, led by veteran agent Kurt Overhardt, wants the 22-year-old paid like some of the higher-end, young centers in the league (I’m guessing north of $6 million a year) and why not after a 33-goal campaign. Not to mention the drop-off at center on this team if Johansen isn’t playing. There’s leverage there for the player to be sure.

On the flip side, Johansen’s standing within the parameters of the CBA is fairly clear, too. As a restricted free agent with no salary-arbitration rights and still four years away from unrestricted free-agent status, he falls under a more tightly controlled universe in terms of his second contract.

Cases in point: P.K. Subban settled for a bridge deal that paid an average of $2.875 million a season over two years coming out of his entry-level deal with Montreal. The message to him was that he had to further prove himself before the big payday. He did, and now he’s got an eight-year, $72 million deal.

Nazem Kadri had his contract squabble, too, with the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into his second contract but settled for $2.9 million a year over two years. Similarly, Derek Stepan ended his contract impasse with the New York Rangers last year agreeing to two years at $3.075 million per season. Matt Duchene did $3.5 million per year over two seasons in his second contract with Colorado.

So you get the picture.

On the other hand, Johansen’s camp can aim higher with their comparison of young, franchise players coming out of the entry-level system. Jonathan Toews went from his entry-level deal to getting five years at $6.3 million a season in his second contract. Steven Stamkos' second contract paid him $7.5 million per season over five years.

Now, Johansen isn’t at the same level as Toews or Stamkos, but you get the idea at least from what the Johansen camp might point to as different examples for young stars heading into second contracts.

Certainly, Johansen right now is more important to the team’s success than Kadri or Stepan were to their teams when they signed their second contracts, and perhaps even Duchene at the time when he signed that deal given all the other young offensive talent that was already in Colorado. But not Subban.

Still, using Subban as an example can cut both ways. Yes, the Jackets can point to how the young superstar took a cheaper bridge deal at that point in his career. But one supposes that Overhardt’s counterargument on that one is that Montreal perhaps should have gone for more term on Subban in the second contract which would have saved money compared to the $9 million a year he’s now going to make for eight seasons.

There is merit in both arguments.

But deep down -- and this is my own gut feeling -- I think the Jackets want to do a bridge deal for some of the same reasons Montreal did: they want to know a bit more about their player before committing a huge, long-term windfall. After all, Johansen blossomed last season into a high-end, No. 1 center, but he struggled in the two previous seasons. One great season alone might not be enough to commit term yet.

So a bridge deal is what the Jackets are fully focused on at this point.

Both sides will have to move greatly. One suspects the start of training camp and the start of the regular season will both be bubbling points in negotiations, as they always are. If the Jackets start off 0-5 with a still unsigned Johansen sitting at home, the leverage shifts his way. If, like in Subban’s case, the team starts off well without him, the player will feel more pressure, although indications at this point are that the Johansen camp will hold very firm in what they’re looking for.

There’s always the chance of an offer sheet, of course. Who wouldn’t want a player of this talent in a league where high-end centers are at such a premium? But the Jackets have intimated they would match any such offer sheet.

Not sure how this ends but easily this is one of the most compelling storylines as camps get set to open this month.

ESPN LOADED: 09.03.2014

sport-scan daily briefflyers.nhl.com/v2/ext/01 - flyers nhl clips/09.03.2014 nhlc.pdf · 03/09/2014...

Documents